


Just call me the Dread Pirate Roberts

by MrsEclipse9856



Series: The Space Ninja & G.I. Jane [2]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Female James T. Kirk, Nicknames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-03-08 11:09:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3206978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsEclipse9856/pseuds/MrsEclipse9856
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because a five year mission wouldn't be any fun without her Space Ninja. And sometimes ridiculous nicknames.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My fem!Kirk/Sulu muse came a knocking and I had to do something about it.

_"Chris… Chris!" She landed on her knees next to the admiral, the glass digging into her skin as she did. "No no no no… Chris. Stay with me… don't leave me. You can't leave me too."_

"Jamie. Babe, wake up."

Jamie's eyes flew open and she looked at him, "Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me, but I wish you'd talk about it," Hikaru said as he caressed her face. He pulled her against his chest as Jamie shook her head.

"Nothing to tell."

He sighed, "You can lie to everyone else to your heart's content but not to me. Just tell me what it is, maybe I can help." She sighed against his chest, his heart beating in her ear.

"It's Chris. I keep watching him die over and over again. Every time I close my eyes. I just want to get some sleep. You can't fix that," she mumbled.

"The mats or the bed?"

Jamie couldn't stop the smirk that crossed her face, "Huh?" He chuckled,

"You're right, I can't fix your nightmares but you do need to sleep and I know you don't want McCoy to sedate you, so I'm gonna wear you out. We can hit the mats and go a couple rounds or we can stay in bed and go a couple rounds, up to you."

"You know what I'll pick," Jamie smiled.

"Both," Hiri said before he hopped out of bed –with a lot more energy than her- and grabbed his sweats; Jamie did the same.

It was middle of Gamma shift, the Enterprise's night shift. Most of the crew was sleeping like the Captain and Chief Helm Officer should be. The thing that bothered Jamie most about her nightmares wasn't that they kept her awake, it was that they kept her boyfriend awake too. She was still trying to figure out how she got so fucking lucky and ended up with the awesomeness that is Hikaru. Of course, he says that he's the lucky one.

"Standard rules of engagement?" he asked. She nodded as she tossed her hoodie on the bench.

"Thanks for this, Hiri."

He chuckled, "You know, the next time you thank me, I'm gonna kick your ass." She looked at him and he smiled, "There is nothing I wouldn't do for you… and you know it. Now, we talking or fighting."

Jamie smirked, "Bring it on, flyboy."

"I told you I like that one, Astronaut Barbie," he smirked.

A year after they dubbed each other 'Space Ninja' and 'G.I. Jane' they started tossing nicknames at each other. Some were random, some were fluffy couple nicknames and others had meaning. Bones, Chekov, Carol and Scotty would usually laugh at them while Spock and Uhura watched with indifference and amusement, respectively.

The pair faced each other and Jamie smirked, "Ladies first, Princess." He laughed,

"Oh, we'll see who the princess is."

* * *

Jamie was quickly learning that there was no such thing as a standard mission. They were pulling diplomatic duties on a prospective planet when she found herself with blades at her throat. The locals had this thing about listening to women who weren't married, Jamie, Bones, Spock, Hendorff and Jackson didn't know because it's not in any of the research that they were given from the brass.

"Can't we just tell 'em that I'm married?" she asked her first officer. Spock nodded and spoke with the locals in their language.

"They do not believe you as we cannot produce your mate," he told her. Yes, it was a lie but she knew that Hikaru would play along.

She rolled her eyes, "If they let us comm the ship, I could."

Until they were married, the women on this planet didn't have the same rights or influence as other members of their race. Being a Captain should have been enough but the intel got crossed somewhere. She really didn't want to be promised to some random person on this planet out in the middle of nowhere. She would've brought Hiri along if she knew about this ahead of time.

Jamie doesn't know how her First Officer did it, but they agreed to let Spock contact the Enterprise. Uhura laughed over the comm until she realized that they weren't kidding. It took a few minutes before more guards entered the room with Hikaru. He commanded attention as strode into the room, ignoring everything and everyone else, went straight to Jamie and pulled her into a soul-searing kiss.

"You alright?" he touched his forehead to hers and whispered against her lips.

"Better now," she told him with a smile.

Usually, they kept the displays of affection to themselves but, in this case, they were making an exception. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips before turning to face the praetor with her slightly behind him, his left hand sliding into her right. Spock –who doesn't usually lie- explained that the two command officers were married to each other. Though, in some cultures, they could be considered married, so it wasn't too much of a lie.

Spock listened closely to the locals before looking at them, "There has been a challenge to your union."

"Seriously?" Jamie's grip on Hikaru's hand tightened.

"Yes, Captain," Spock nodded. She knew she was gonna regret what she was about ask.

"What does that mean?" Hiri asked. Spock looked at them.

"What it means, Lieutenant Sulu, is that you will have to fight to keep Jamie. If you do not, a suitor has made his interest known to the praetor and she will be given to him."

Jamie sighed, "What? Like a koon-ut-kal-if-fee?"

"That is an accurate comparison, Captain," Spock nodded.

"Do I even what to know what that koon ut kal… thing is?" Hikaru asked her.

"It's a Vulcan mating ritual that means marriage or challenge," Jamie told him. "It's basically a wedding, with or without a fight to the death, depending. The difference is that Vulcan women have a choice and the option of fighting for themselves. I'm not gonna ask or order you to do that."

"Who says you need to?" Hikaru chuckled. "If I don't fight for you, they'll try to keep you here and it'll be a fight anyway… on top of being an interstellar diplomatic incident…"

"And if you get killed?" she asked.

Hiri smiled, "Like I would let that happen. Have some faith, Buttercup." She couldn't stop the snicker that passed her lips.

"You and that movie. The book is better," Jamie teased.

"Maybe, but I still prefer the movie even though my princess is prettier. In either case, just call me the Dread Pirate Roberts." He sighed, "I'll be fine, Jamie, as long as you don't go offering yourself up to Prince Humperdinck for me." She –reluctantly- agreed to let him fight the alien that wanted to keep her as a wife.

"Don't die on me, Westley."

He smiled, "As you wish."

The whole group was led to another area of this government building and into what looked like a cross between a gym and an arena. The praetor said something to them and Spock translated.

"They must separate you from him," her first officer told them. "Someone will be permitted to go with each of you."

Jamie nodded, "You and Bones stay with Sulu. Cupcake and Jacks are with me." Spock notified the praetor of her decision and he nodded his agreement. Hiri pressed a quick kiss to her lips before the guards separated the group into two.

"At least it's not the Pit of Despair," her boyfriend muttered.

It took them a fucking year to get together and she had to die before they stopped being stubborn about it, now this; Jamie wasn't happy at all. The challenger walked in and looked over at her with a leer; she knew a power play when she saw one. She was torn between wanting to watch and wanting to hide. She couldn't hear what was being said –not that she understood- but she could tell the locals were offering Hikaru a weapon. He shook his head and motioned to his retractable katana. She loved that thing so much that he got her one and taught her how to fight with it. Jamie kinda wished that she brought it with her; not like it mattered since they took her phaser and the knife in her boot when she arrived on planet.

She watched as Hiri pulled his command gold tunic and black undershirt over his head and handed both to Bones. Her best friend looked equal parts pissed off and worried. He kept glancing over to where she was standing with the security officers near the praetor.

"I don't know what this proves. Anyone who looks at you two can tell you're together," the tall officer next to her said under his breath.

She looked up at the officer she calls Cupcake, "Really?"

"Yes, ma'am. You guys aren't overt about it or anything but all someone had to do was pay attention. You love each other." Before she could reply to the burly security officer, the fight started. Jamie covered her face with her hands and watched through her fingers.

"Come on, Hiri," she whispered.

Apparently, Hendorff was thinking the same thing because she heard him mutter, "You got this, Sulu."

Like Uhura, her relationship with the security officer started badly. Like they-were-in-a-bar-fight-that-Chris-broke-up bad. After she got the Enterprise, Jamie and Hendorff sat down and talked it out. At first, it was just a civil work relationship, then, she died for the crew. That's when the security officer she dubbed Cupcake in that dingy bar in Riverside all those years ago appointed himself her protector.

"I can't watch," Jamie cringed as the blade barely missed Hiri's neck. She knew that Hikaru could fight, it was one of their mutual loves, but she didn't like watching him get hurt.

"It's over, Captain," Hendorff told her.

She knew from the gasps and silence that followed but she wasn't sure if she wanted to look in either case. The young Captain took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Bones was holding Hikaru up but he was mostly okay. She pushed past the guards and ran until she slammed into him.

"'Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.'" She laughed as he quoted The Princess Bride.

Jamie decided to play along, "'I will never doubt again.'"

"'There will never be a need.' You okay?"

She nodded as she checked him over, "Better than you."

"I'm awesome," he gave her a snort. "I don't know what you're talking 'bout."

"So why are you bleeding?" Jamie asked with a chuckle.

He shrugged, "Occupational hazard. I love you."

"Love you too."

Bones must've realized that she wasn't gonna let Hiri go because he handed her a bandage, "Put pressure on his side." She nodded and did as he asked before she looked over at Spock.

"Are they done with this mess, now?" Jamie asked.

He talked with the praetor for a few moments before answering her. "It is finished. As far as they are concerned, you and the Lieutenant are married and our business can proceed." Jamie rolled her eyes as a bunch of choice words crossed her mind.

"No," she said.

Spock raised an eyebrow, "Captain?"

"We were invited here. They tried to force me to stay as someone's wife and they almost killed one of my senior officers. I have enough for my recommendation. We don't need to talk about anything else." Spock shocked the shit out of her when he agreed and relayed a diplomatic answer to the praetor while Bones commed the ship to beam himself, Jim and Sulu to sickbay.

A short while later, Spock showed up. Vulcans generally don't lie, so she was curious as to what he told them. "The truth, that you made the necessary observations for your report."

* * *

"Hey, Maverick."

He glanced at her as she walked into her quarters, "Does that make you Goose or the hot teacher?"

Jamie thought about it as she leaned in to kiss him, "The teacher. What are you working on?"

"My astrophysics thesis." He gave her one of those sexy ass smiles, "Wanna read it?" Jamie nodded and he pulled her onto his lap. "It's not the final draft." She shrugged and he scrolled to the top of his paper, 'Experimental Subparticle Physics and Their Application to Warp Drive', on the console. Jamie was grateful that she understood what he was talking about.

"You're gonna get your PhD before me."

He kissed her neck, "Only because I don't have a ship to worry about. You'll get there. If you want my help, I'm more than willing."

"Ha, you are more than willing to be a distraction."

"Actually, I think you're the distraction, right now. A very welcome distraction," he chuckled against her neck. She shivered as he ran his fingers along her bare legs and kissed behind her ear.

Jamie sucked in a breath, "Hikaru."

She felt him smile against her neck, "Yes?"

"You're playing with fire," Jamie warned.

He chuckled, "Am I?" She nodded as his fingers on her skin drove her crazy. "I'll take my chances."

He wrapped a strong arm around her waist and stood from the chair, she had no choice but to stand up too; he pinned her between his body and the desk. Hikaru pulled her into a kiss and her brain disappeared. She sat on the desk and wrapped her legs around him, she was rewarded with a groan. Jamie slid her hands under his black undershirt and pushed it off. Her communicator buzzed and cut the atmosphere in the room. Hiri dropped a kiss to the top of her head and handed her the device.

"This better be good." He chuckled as she opened it, "Kirk."

It was Spock; Admiral Barnett needed to talk to her.

"Back to work, Captain," he sighed.

"We're gonna finish this, LT," Jamie said.

"Yes, we are," Hiri smirked. "Go, before I forget that the Admiral is waiting." She kissed him before sliding off the desk and leaving her quarters.

* * *

"Ready, set, go!"

Jamie, Hiri, Scotty and Chekov all sprinted to the edge of the cliff and jumped into the clear Risan waters. Bones grumbled at them as soon as they swam back to the shallow water. Jamie swam over to him and pulled her friend under.

"Dammit, Jim," her best friend grumbled.

She chuckled, "It's a break, Bones, enjoy it. If you're gonna be a grouch, don't." They all chuckled.

"She's got a point, laddie," Scotty said. "Ye could use a break from keeping this lot in one piece. Even Spock's relaxin'."

Her First Officer was sitting in the sand, reading. The fact that they got him out here with the rest of the group was a feat in itself. He even jumped with them a few times thanks to Uhura. The master communicator was relaxing in the water a few feet away from Jamie.

"Relax, Leonard. We all know her boyfriend won't let her do anything too crazy," Uhura muttered.

Bones wasn't having it, "He's crazy too."

Hikaru chuckled and whispered in her ear, "Maybe we should just go back to our room. Give Jamaharon a try." That was an idea that she could get behind.

"You know what, Bones is right," Jamie smiled. They all looked at her. "I'm crazy, the Space Ninja is crazy. We're gonna go do something safer."

Scotty chuckled, "Like what, lass?"

"Like each other," she smirked. "See ya, later… or not."

The guys all groaned while Uhura laughed, "You guys set yourselves up for that. I think Spock and I might take a page from their book." Jamie laughed when she heard the guys groan again.

They had to pass Spock to get back to the hotel, he looked up at them when they got close. Hiri looked at the half-Vulcan, "Your girlfriend is headed in this direction and I'm pretty sure she intends to have her way with you." Spock nodded as he watched Uhura exit the water behind the pair. Hikaru snickered, "Come on, babe."

Jamie sighed as they walked into her room. She could feel his eyes on her as she slowly pulled the strings that held up her bikini top and let it drop to the floor. Jamie smiled as Hiri walked over and stood behind her. She could feel the heat of his body against her back.

She sucked in a breath when he gently ran his fingers down her spine and to her hip, pulling her back against him. "You want to know the best part about shore leave?" Jamie nodded at the question he just whispered against her ear. Hikaru chuckled, "Time. We get to take our time." Her head leaned back against his shoulder as he kissed and nipped the skin behind her ear, down her neck and over her shoulder.

Jamie felt like lava was running though her blood; he just has that affect on her. She turned in his arms and pressed kisses along his collarbone as she ran her hands over his chest. She pushed his shorts down his legs, "They gotta go."

He chuckled, "You too." Jamie shrugged and slid the rest of her bikini off. Hikaru pulled her against him and kissed her like there was nothing else in the world. "You have no idea how much I love you, Jamie."

"I think I do, sweetheart."

"That so?" he asked with a smile.

She smiled back, "It's one of the only things I know for sure." Hiri chuckled as he scooped her up and gently tossed her on the bed. For a minute, he just stood there. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just admiring my very beautiful girlfriend," he smiled.

Jamie smiled, "If you don't get over here, I might hurt you." He leveled a look at her that was so intense it took her breath away.

He climbed onto the bed over her, caressing her skin as he did. "Hiri," she whispered. Jamie was rewarded with a smile before Hikaru kissed her as he slid into her, she gasped into his mouth. She relished in the delicious sensation of their bodies together. No one has ever made her feel like he does; loved and treasured as if she held the secrets of the universe.

Nothing felt more right than the movement of his body against hers. Jamie closed her eyes and held him tighter, letting herself get lost in this moment with him. He moved with slow and measured strokes, watching her as the tension built.

She knew what was coming when the smirk crossed his lips. He pulled her into a bruising kiss before he moved deeper and faster, giving her everything. "Oh, God."

He chuckled, "Is that going on the nickname list?"

"Maybe." She hooked her ankles together and pulled him even closer. He kissed her neck, her face and anywhere else he could reach as he continued to move. Her body responded to him of its own volition and Jamie clung to him as she shuddered, her world shattering into a million pieces. She watched as Hiri tensed and he followed her over.

He closed his eyes and sighed against her shoulder. He pressed at soft kiss to her skin, then her lips and pulled away. "I'm gonna take a shower. And you are coming with me."

She chuckled, "I'm pretty sure my legs don't work at the moment."

"Okay, a bath in that ridiculously large tub, then. I'll even carry you," Hikaru offered with a smirk.

Jamie smiled and nodded, "Sounds good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Star Trek, The Princess Bride (in book or movie form), Top Gun or Barbie.  
> The paper Sulu is working on is his paper from the Prime universe.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sulu, get us to Cerberus, as fast as we can go. Spock, you have the con. Uhura, walk with me," Jamie said as she and Uhura walked out of the ready room. The two women entered the turbolift before anyone could ask them anything and headed straight to sickbay. They didn't have to look for her best friend when they got there.

"What did you do this time, Jim?" Bones asked.

"We need to talk to you," she said. He looked at her, then Uhura, then back at her.

"What's wrong?" Jamie pushed her best friend towards his office. As soon as the door closed, she took a breath.

"We received a distress call from Cerberus," Jamie told him.

Cerberus was a planet in the Beta Quadrant. According to the message, there was an attack and now a food shortage. If that wasn't reason enough for Jamie to rush there, Bones' daughter, Joanna, went to school on the colony.

"Jo?" he asked.

She looked at her best friend, "We don't know."

"Who attacked?" Bones asked.

"Don't know that either," she said.

He looked at her, "What do you know? You're the big fuckin' hero who knows everything else. Why don't you know?" Jamie knew he wasn't really upset with her, it was just a bad situation that his daughter was caught in the middle of.

"Leonard," Jamie used his first name for the first time in years. "I will find her, I promise. I will get your daughter back to you, even if it kills me." She walked out of his office before either of them said something that they'd regret later.

Anyone who knew Jamie well knew that she loved Bones' daughter with all her heart. The kid was part of the patchwork family that Jamie put together. Mini-Bones –as Jamie sometimes refers to Joanna- was very much her father's daughter. Smart as hell and sarcastic to boot, Jamie instantly loved the little girl who dubbed her 'Aunt Jamie' during their first meeting. She wasn't placating her friend when she told him that she'd find his daughter, there's nothing she wouldn't do for that little girl.

She walked onto the bridge and sat in the command chair that Spock vacated. She took a breath and looked around the bridge, "We're responding to a distress signal from the colony. There was an attack and now a food shortage." Jamie paused, "Doctor McCoy's daughter is among the colonists." For a moment, nobody said anything. Then Hikaru turned in his chair and looked at her.

"We'll find her, Captain," the pilot said.

With anyone else, it would've looked like an officer reassuring his Captain. With Jamie and Hikaru, she knew what he wasn't saying, 'We all love that little girl and we'll find her, even if it gets us killed because Joanna is family.'

* * *

Solving the Cerberus mess was exhausting to most of the crew; to Jamie it was like living in a nightmare. A sequel of Tarsus Four with her best friend's daughter as the lead. There was a ship going over the details of the attack while the Enterprise was tasked with relief efforts. The brass was shocked that she didn't fight her orders but she wasn't really worried about them. Her memories wouldn't leave her alone and it didn't help that she was worried about Bones.

In what seemed like forever, but was only about a day, she kept her promise to her grumpy doctor and found his little girl. Joanna was a smart kid, she programmed her communicator to send out what looked like a junk signal. It was actually a message that Jamie decoded using Joanna's favorite book -The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- as the key. The kid knew that her dad and Aunt Jamie were coming for her and she hid in a small storage closet at the school with two of her friends.

"Hey, Tinker Bell. You okay?"

She chuckled and nodded, "Yea. Just watching the kids sleep. I thought I got over what happened to me but I keep slipping into memories of Tarsus. How do I tell them that it doesn't go away?"

Hikaru sighed, "You just do. Be honest with them like Pike always was with you. At the end of the day, you respected him for it." That was true.

After Tarsus, the Starfleet officers kept telling her that it would be okay, that life would get easier or get better but it didn't. Jamie found herself in more bars than she cared to remember for nine years trying to drink that massacre out of her mind when Chris showed up. She didn't like what he had to say but she respected the fact that it was the truth. He forced her to look at what she was doing with the life her father and brother both died to give her and realized that she was wasting a very precious gift.

Jamie kicked off her boots and went to take a shower. This whole mission was her definition of hell and she just wanted to go to sleep. After drying off and pulling one of Hiri's t-shirts over her head, she crawled into bed with him. He ran his fingers along her jaw, "It might not get better, but you don't have to carry it alone anymore. Me, McCoy and the rest of our friends, we got your back."

She chuckled against his chest, "You know, for the first time in my life, I actually believe that."

* * *

Jamie and Hikaru were eating dinner with the rest of the senior staff and Joanna when Chekov threw down the challenge. "Terms of endearment in alphabetical order. Go."

She sighed and went first, "You couldn't pick something harder? Angel." Hiri nodded,

"Babe," Hikaru countered.

Jamie smirked, "Cutie pie."

"Darlin'," he said in his best imitation of Bones causing them all to laugh.

"Egg with eyes," she said. "Before any of you say anything, it's a Japanese thing."

Hiri nodded, "Yea, my dad says it to my mom all the time. Flower."

"Gum-drop," she said with a laugh.

He smiled, "Honey-bunny."

"Inamorato."

Bones looked at her, "What does that mean?"

"A man who is loved. It's Italian," Uhura said with a chuckle.

Hikaru looked at her, "Joy."

"Kitten."

"Love," her boyfriend smiled. Bones rolled his eyes as the girls all swooned. She smiled,

"Muffin."

"Ninja."

Scotty shook his head, "That doesn't count, laddie."

"Except it does because that's her term of endearment for me," Hiri pointed out.

Jamie shrugged, "Old man."

He looked at her, "Precious."

"Queen," Jamie smirked.

"Rose."

"Sugar," Jamie noticed that many of the refugees were watching.

Hiri tapped his chin, "Teddy bear."

"Now, it vill get interesting," Chekov chuckled.

"Unique," Jamie smiled.

Her boyfriend nodded, "I like that one. Valentine."

"Wonderful. Bring it," she said.

Hiri laughed, "Mmmm… I got nothing for X. Yam."

"Złotko. It's Polish, means gold. You skipped one so, I win. We gotta find one for X," she said.

Joanna laughed for the first time since they found her. Hiri looked at her, "Well, there's the Joanna McCoy that kept me distracted when Jamie was in the hospital. Sup, kid?"

"Hi, Uncle Hikaru. She kicked your butt," Mini-Bones smiled.

"Only because her brain is almost as fast as Spock's," he told her. "If this was a throw down on the mats, I'd win."

Jamie rolled her eyes, "You just keep telling yourself that, Robin Hood."

* * *

Jamie was trying to decide what she hated more; dignitaries, mingling with dignitaries or getting dressed up to mingle with them. The Enterprise got the refugees to Alpha Centauri Four just in time for her to get ordered to attend the Federation's Annual Achievement Gala on Earth. To add insult to injury, she was also told to dress up for the event, meaning no uniform. Spock, as Ambassador Sarek's son, was going to this thing too.

"Well?"

Hikaru stared at her, "Uh… Wow. You look beautiful. I mean, you always do… it's just… wow."

"So better than I thought," Jamie laughed.

"I don't know what you thought but I'm gonna say yea, probably," he smiled. "You look like a goddess. Maybe Athena, the goddess of wisdom, courage, strategic war, mathematics, strength and a bunch of other stuff."

Jamie's look was simple but still elegant; she was wearing a floor-length, shimmery white dress with a halter neckline and strappy silver shoes, she also let her long blonde hair fall down her back and went light on the makeup.

"As awesome as she was, Athena was also a virgin and we both know I'm not."

"Okay. How about Helen of Troy and Sparta? The face that launched a thousand ships. The ideal beauty," Hiri said, his smile brightened.

Jamie sighed as she ran her fingers along the Starfleet insignia on his chest, "Does that make you Prince Paris of Troy or the Spartan King Menelaus?"

"Menelaus," he chuckled. "Paris was a jerk who used the Gods to help him steal Helen from her husband and caused a war that lasted a decade. Menelaus got her back in the end and he was a Spartan, which is badass." Jamie looked up at him and he chuckled, "You aren't the only one who reads the books on Greek mythology, gorgeous."

Jamie nodded, "Tell me again why I'm going to this thing."

Hikaru touched her chin, "Because the Admirals told you to. Look on the bright side…" She raised an eyebrow and Hiri smirked, "I get to help you take this dress off later."

"Now that is the bright side. Are you sure you wanna go? I wouldn't wish one of these dinner things on my enemies."

"It'll be fun because I'm with you," he chuckled. "Besides, you're the famous one; all I have to do is look good and get your drinks."

"Well, you always look good." Good was actually an understatement. "Handsome. Sexy. Dashing, even." He was in his dress gray uniform and he looked damn good in it.

"That so, Miss Kirk?"

She took a deep breath, "It is, Mister Sulu. I'd show you but we have somewhere to be."

* * *

"Jamie," a voice said behind her. She turned from her conversation with Admiral Barnett to look at the person who called her name.

"Winona," the young captain said as civilly as possible. She didn't know her mother would be here, she wasn't too surprised though. Jamie noticed Hiri, Spock and Uhura as they each tried to make their way over to her.

"We should probably talk at some point."

She looked at the beautiful woman who gave birth to her, "This isn't the time or the place."

"So direct, just like your brother," Winona said. Before Jamie could respond, Spock showed up.

"Captain," he said. She could tell he was worried. He gave her a look and Jamie just shrugged.

"Commander Spock, this is Commander Winona Thomas. Winona, this is my First Officer, Commander Spock, Ambassador Sarek's son," she introduced her mother to one of her closest friends. Spock looked at Winona with a somehow colder expression than usual.

"Commander Thomas," he said dismissively before looking at Jamie. "Captain, Doctor Daystrom has expressed interest in speaking with you."

Jamie smiled, "Can't pass up a chance to talk to him, now can I? The Enterprise will be here for a week maybe we can meet up and talk?"

"I would like that. I'll see you in a few days?" Winona asked. She nodded at her mother as Hiri and Uhura reached them.

"You okay?" her communications officer asked.

"Yea," Jamie smiled. She looked at Hikaru, "Come on, we're going to meet Daystrom." He offered her is arm and the walked away from her mother.

"You sure you're okay?" Hiri whispered. She nodded as she held onto his arm.

"I have you, how could I not be?"

He rolled his eyes, "One day, that charm isn't gonna work on me."

"I most certainly hope not, King Menelaus."

* * *

Jamie wasn't surprised that Hikaru insisted on going with her to see her mother and her second step-dad. She didn't know much about Jack Thomas but he seemed to be a vast improvement over Frank. The two men didn't hover after introductions; they sat at a different table.

"He's cute. Is it serious?" Winona said.

Jamie sighed, "Yes. Please tell me that my love life is not why you wanted to talk to me."

"No. I uh… I owe you an apology," her mother said. "I owe you a lot more than that but I can't change the past. I was an idiot. After your father died, I did everything I could to forget him. Including ignore you." Winona looked at her hands before she locked her eyes with Jamie's, "I can tell you I'm sorry until I'm blue in the face but it won't change what I… let Frank do to you. Or what happened on Tarsus. All I can do is hope that one day you can forgive me for being so blind."

"Already did." Her mother looked at her and Jaime sighed, "A couple months ago, we wouldn't even be having this conversation; I hated you. Then I almost died. I never understood why you fell apart the way you did until the Enterprise was falling out of the sky with my family in it. It's easy to say that I saved the ship for all of them but… but the truth… the truth is that I did it for one person. I don't know what I'd do if he died. I don't… I don't have the words… I woke up from that coma and I finally understood you. I was sitting at Pike's funeral, Hikaru was holding my hand and I just… got it. I would rather die than live without him. So, I forgive you."

Winona nodded, "That's more than I deserve. I know we won't be close but maybe we could try to be friends?" Jamie nodded,

"I'd like that. So, what's my new step-dad like?" Her mother chuckled and waved the guys over.

"He's Frank's opposite."

Jamie chuckled, "And here I thought all hope was lost."

"You ladies talking about me?" Jack asked. They both nodded and Jamie realized that she and her mother shared many of the same mannerisms.

"Jamie asked what you were like."

The older man smiled, "I'm a nerd. I teach physics at Berkeley." She couldn't stop from giggling. Jack looked at her, "Did I say something funny?"

"I'm working on my Astrophysics dissertation. Jamie is helping me revise it," Hikaru told him.

Winona gave him a look, "I thought you were a helmsman?"

"I am, but I'm also a combat specialist, an astrophysicist and a botanist," Hiri told her. "A good chunk of the Enterprise's crew have multiple focuses, including our captain." Winona looked at her and Jamie nodded.

"Tactician, engineer, survivalist, combat specialist and I dabble in physics," Jamie shrugged. "It's not just me though. Spock's a little bit of everything. Chekov is physics, engineering, navigation, weapons… who knows what else, he just turned eighteen. I can't wait to see what he's like at our age."

Hikaru nodded, "McCoy is a surgeon but he does research on different conditions, he also has a PhD in psychology. Uhura is a linguist, a communications system specialist, a cryptologist and a navigator. Scotty is engineering, physics, weapons and navigation. Hendorff is ground security, ship security, survivalist and engineer. We're all flight rated on the small stuff. The two of us, Chekov and Spock can fly the Enterprise. That's just the senior staff."

"And people think you're an idiot?" Jack chuckled.

"I'm pretty, I'm young and my father was a hero. It's easier for them to just think I'm dumb," Jamie said. "It actually works in my favor a lot of the time. People expect me to fall for their bullshit, I play along until I get what I need, then I flip the script."

Jack laughed, "You sound like Winnie. She laughs at the idiots who think they know what they're doin' and end up getting schooled by her."

Her mother smirked, "Never been a dumb blonde…"

"…will never be a dumb blonde," Jamie finished.

The two women looked at each other and Winona sighed, "Your brother taught you that?"

"He tried to tell me about _before_ but he couldn't remember a lot of it," Jamie admitted. "He did say that you taught him that."

Winona nodded, "I got it from your father at the academy. What was junior like?"

"Tough, smart, sarcastic, friendly, funny, brave. He saved my life. People call me a hero but… I'm just a girl trying to do what her big brother told her to do."

They all looked at her and Jack asked, "What was that?" Jamie smiled,

"Fight for myself and for the people who aren't able to do the same."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Tinker Bell


	3. Chapter 3

"What are you reading?"

Jamie smiled as he sat next to her, "My mom gave me some of her and George's papers from the academy. God, that's weird."

"What? Having a mom?" he asked with a smile. She nodded. Hikaru chuckled, "Guess you couldn't be orphan Annie forever. What were they working on?" Jamie handed him the PADD.

"I haven't read her engineering and computer programming stuff yet, but George was working on the importance of ship commanders understanding multiple functions on their ship. It's not finished, though. He went with something else for that assignment."

"Didn't you write something similar to this at the academy?" Hikaru asked as he read through the paper.

She nodded, "It was a case study: 'Why Captains should understand Engineering.' As much as I loved Chris, he never knew what I was talking about when it came to the ship. There were some setbacks during the Enterprise's build. I had to translate the engineering talk into something he could understand. The guys at the shipyard thought it was funny." She took a breath, "All that time I spent wondering about George… and where I came from."

"Looks to me that you take after your parents more than you thought."

"Whatever you say, mama's boy," shr teased. Hiri sat the PADD on the table and pulled her into his lap.

"Daddy's girl."

"That really doesn't apply to me," she told him.

He chuckled, "Between Pike and my dad, it kinda does." Jamie almost opened her mouth to argue but she realized that he was right.

"Okay, I'll give you that one. I just wish I got to meet George. Like actually meet him. I saw him… when I was in my coma."

Jamie hasn't really talked about what happened when she died. She could tell that it was too hard for her friends to listen to and even harder for Hiri. He sighed, "You wanna talk about it?"

Jamie rested her head on his shoulder, "I don't know. I mean… you guys had to deal with my death…"

"But you haven't dealt with it, yet. If you're worried about me, don't be," he told her.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yea, I'm sure. If you need to talk about it, I will listen. You know that," he whispered.

Jamie smiled, "I was in a bar."

"Of course you were," Hiri chuckled.

"It was a place that me and Bones go to… went to, Khan kinda crushed it with that ship. Anyway, I walked in and I didn't know what to think."

_"Pull up a seat, kid," a familiar voice instructed._

_Jamie looked around, "Where…? How…?"_

_"Where are we? And how are we here?" Chris chuckled. "You're in your head… mostly. You died on the Enterprise. Before you ask, your crew is okay. McCoy brought you back and now you're in a coma, so don't get too comfortable."_

_"It's okay," Jamie said with a nod and sat in the seat next to him. There were worst ways to go. That doesn't mean she wasn't angry but she could accept that it was necessary in order to save everyone else._

_"Is it?" Jamie turned to look at the person who entered the room behind her. "I mean I died for my family and look where that got ya. Hi, sweetheart." She was looking at her father and Jamie didn't know if she wanted to hug him or hit him. George chuckled, "Go for it, I deserve one of each."_

_She looked at him, "Are you…?"_

_"Reading your mind? A little. God, you look like me. No wonder Nona had a hard time."_

_"Is that why you're here? To tell me not to hate my mother," Jamie asked._

_Her father chuckled, "You don't hate her. You want to but you don't. You got time to worry about that later. Those friends of yours don't know when to quit, huh?"_

_Jamie could hear someone talking, it was faint but there. "…_ 'The time will come, the time will not be long in coming, when new ties will be formed about you - ties that will bind you yet more tenderly and strongly to the home you so adorn - the dearest ties that will ever grace and gladden you. O Miss Manette, when the little picture of a happy father's face looks up in yours, when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you' _…"_

_She smiled, "That's Hikaru. He's reading the Tale of Two Cities by Dickens… in Japanese. That's my favorite part of the story."_

_"You better go out with that boy when you wake up," Pike said. Jamie glared at her mentor and he chuckled, "Don't look at me like that, I figured you guys out a while ago. You love him. You won't admit it but you do and you should tell him. The man is sitting at your bedside reading one of your favorite books while you're recovering from dying."_

_George nodded, "It's crazy what we do for people we love. I didn't even meet you but I died for you. If I had to guess, you went into that warp core for him."_

_"The ship was falling out of the sky. What else was I gonna do?" she asked._

_"You saved the person you love. It's okay to admit it. I'm George Samuel Kirk and I got myself killed so that my wife and newborn daughter could get away from a bunch of crazy Romulans. See, easy."_

_"Not that easy, I had to kill said Romulans myself," she pointed out. "You could've just let us die. I mean… look at what happened."_

_He smiled, "You went through some really bad stuff, but you came out on the other side. You saved a bunch of people on Tarsus. You saved the world from Nero. You stopped Marcus from starting a war. And you saved God knows how many people from Khan. Not bad from where I'm sitting, little one."_

_"But Sam and Hoshi and Chris..."_

_Her friend shook his head, "You leave me out of this. You saved my life plenty, kid. There was no way you could've saved me at Daystrom, Spock tried. You saved as many people as you could. You always do." He gave her a hug and kissed her forehead, "You did good, Jamie. Remember, I believe in you." She watched him walk out of the bar._

_"He's a good man, I'm glad you had him watching your back for the last few years. Hoshi was just happy you got off Tarsus alive, your brother too. They'd be here but everyone figured that I since I was the only one you haven't met to let me hang out with you while your body healed. Chris thought you'd need to see a familiar face. He knows you better than the rest of us."_

_"So, is this the part where you tell me…" Jamie stared but she stopped when she heard Uhura singing, she didn't understand the song, it was in another language, but her voice was soothing._

_"Man, you have the best friends."_

_She looked at him, "They're my family."_

_He nodded, "I know. I wish I could've been there for you but I needed you to live."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because your life is more important to me than anything, even mine or your mother's. I know you feel like you aren't worth it but you are. Just look at your friends. The grumpy doctor who hates space and joined Starfleet because he thought he had nothing left. He tolerates the black because you're there. The Human/Vulcan hybrid that never had a real friend before you. The teenage genius who never had anyone look out for him like you do. Hell, I recruited Keenser myself, ask him about it. All the stuff you've done means next to nothing compared to that group of people that you turned into a family. You were always meant for greatness, Jamie. Even if you stayed dead, you still did better than me."_

_Jamie felt a pain run through her chest._

_"Ahh. It's almost time," he said. Time. Time for what? He took her face in his hands, "You're friend, the grumpy doctor. He fixed you. I like him, by the way. You're gonna wake up soon. I guess this is my last chance to tell you that I love you, little one. I am so proud of the person you've become. I'll see you when you die for real… Hopefully, it'll be a long, long time from now."_

_She felt like she couldn't breathe, "Dad…"_

_He smiled, "I'll be here, sweetheart. I love you."_

_"I…" Jamie couldn't talk and George pulled her into his arms as her knees buckled. She had so many questions for him. She wanted to tell him that she loved him. She wanted to stay with him but she couldn't say anything._

_"I know, little one. I know." She held onto him as tight as she could as her eyes fluttered closed. "I love you, Jamie."_

"That's when I woke up to Bones grumbling at me." Hikaru didn't say anything for a few minutes before he nodded.

"He was right."

"Who? About what?" she asked.

He chuckled, "George was right about all of it."

"You don't mean that," Jamie shook her head.

"You don't see yourself like the rest of us see you. If it came down to your life or mine, I'd die for you in a heartbeat and I'm not the only one."

Jamie stood up and started pacing, "It shouldn't be like that. What makes me so much more important than you or anyone else?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Hikaru said. "What makes me or McCoy more important to you?"

Jamie looked at him, "You have parents and siblings and, in Bones' case, a daughter."

"You think that you're excluded from being our family? There's a reason that McCoy treats you like his little sister. To him, you're no different than Donna. He cried, Jamie. I watched the grumpiest person I know cry like a fuckin' baby when he thought he lost you. Then, we had to stop him from running himself into the ground to bring you back. It's not that you're more important than everyone else. It's just… you act like you aren't important at all and you are. You're important to me and McCoy and Uhura… God, you should've seen her. And Spock. Spock almost killed Khan with his bare hands. You aren't the only one willing to die for someone you love."

"I…" she didn't know what to say.

"You matter. I would think that we all showed you that but if I gotta say it every day until you listen, I will. You matter, Jamie."

* * *

"Uhura, you have the con. Spock and Bones, with me."

They were orbiting Pyris VII to check on the mapping expedition. Scotty, Hikaru and Ensign Jackson went to the surface and were an hour overdue for their check-in. When they finally got in contact with them, it was just Jackson requesting to be beamed up. According to Lieutenant Kyle, when Jackson materialized on the transporter pad, he immediately fell to the floor, dead. But, somehow, a voice from his dead lips warned that that they are cursed and they must leave or everyone on the Enterprise will die.

Jamie had to watch the footage twice before she decided to send another team for Hikaru and Scotty. Not willing to risk anymore of the crew, she decided to go herself but Spock and Bones went with her like they always do.

"We might not find him, Jim," her best friend said.

She looked at him, "Them. And I know that. If they're alive than something's wrong. If they're dead, I want to know why." They beamed to the spot that Jackson was beamed up from. "Foggy."

Spock nodded as he ran a scan with his tricorder, "It is unlikely that the fog is natural given the planet's environmental conditions, Captain. There are multiple lifesigns in that direction." Jamie nodded at her friend and started walking.

Bones looked at her, "I don't like this, Jim."

She agreed with him but before she could say anything three women appeared.

"Captain Kirk! ... Captain Kirk! ... Captain Kirk!" The first woman yelled.

"Go back! ... Go back! ... Go back!" The second woman told them.

The third looked at Jamie, "Remember the curse!"

The first woman spoke again, "Wind shall rise!"

The second, "And fog descend!"

Then the third, "So leave here, all, or meet your end!" All three disappeared into the fog.

"That was creepy as hell," Bones muttered.

Jamie nodded and looked at her first officer, "Spock. Comment?" He sighed,

"Very bad poetry, Captain," he said.

"A more useful comment, Mister Spock," she chuckled.

He looked at her, "I do not have one. We should proceed."

"Yea. Let's go," Jamie snickered.

They kept walking to where they were reading lifesigns. Like the three women said, the winds and fog tried to take them out but they discovered a large castle; the source of their readings. Jamie, hand on her phaser, entered with Spock and Bones behind her. They spotted a black cat that led them through the corridors.

"Where is this thing leading us?" As soon as Bones said the words, the floor collapsed under them. Jamie registered that they were falling, than nothing.

When Jamie woke, she realized that they were all chained to a wall, "Where are we?"

Bones looked at her, "I don't know, Jim." She nodded before pulling a pin out of her hair and picking the lock.

"Where did you acquire that skill, Captain?" Spock asked.

Jamie smiled as she moved to pick their cuffs, "My brother. We gotta find the guys."

Bones nodded as he rubbed his wrists. The trio walked out of the room and down a long corridor. She saw Scotty and Hiri heading in their direction; she could tell something was wrong with them. Jamie put her finger to her lips and pressed into the wall. As soon as they were close enough, Jamie grabbed Hikaru and Spock grabbed Scotty, neither man seemed to recognize them. She tried not to let it hurt her feelings too much when Hiri pinned her to the wall.

"Hikaru," she whispered. His eyes were lifeless, like someone pulled everything that made him Hikaru out. Someone else was in his mind and she didn't like it one bit.

Suddenly, they were all in another room with a strange man. He looked at her as Spock helped Jamie to her feet. She sighed, "Who are you and what did you do to them?"

"Captain, the expedition noted no lifeforms on this planet," Spock told her.

She nodded, "Wouldn't be the weirdest thing we've ever seen, Spock." That goes to the polywater intoxication from a year before.

They learned that the man's name was Korob, he's not native to the planet. He offered them food and drinks, then he offered fortunes in gemstones, all in an attempt to get them to leave without asking more questions.

"We could make gems on the ship. They're worthless to me. Sulu and Scott are priceless. Let them go," Jamie demanded.

"I studied your kind. You value these things."

Jamie shrugged, "I don't."

"You passed," Korob smiled. "I needed to see what kind of person you are." She looked at him as he continued, "You are loyal, brave, and incorruptible." She wasn't perfect but she would do anything, give up anything for her family.

"Well, what do we have here?" a feminine voice said from the doorway. Jamie, Bones and Spock watched the beautiful woman walk into the room. Jamie's blood ran hot when she touched Hikaru's face. "Oh, don't worry about your friends. They are perfectly fine."

Jamie looked at the woman, "Then let them go."

"Why would I? I have control over them. It's what I do, control men. From the looks of it, so do you," the woman, who called herself Sylvia, said. Jamie didn't bother arguing with her, it was kinda true.

"What do you want with my men?" Jamie asked. Sylvia smiled at her but didn't offer a response. The captain looked around before she lunged at Scotty and took his phaser. She pointed the weapon at Sylvia, "Let us go."

The other woman smiled, "No." Hikaru grabbed Jamie and Sylvia chuckled, "I could have him kill you, you know. Take her back the dungeon. Her pointy-eared friend too." Jamie looked at Bones as Hiri and Scotty pulled her and her first officer out of the room.

"BONES!" she called. He made a move towards her than stopped, Sylvia must have done something to him. "Hiri, I know you're in there. You gotta fight her… No matter what happens, we fight for each other. I know you can hear me, sweetheart. I'll even watch the damn Pirates of the Caribbean movies with you, just come back to me."

For a second, his grip loosened, that was all Jamie needed. She slipped from his arms and ran, she couldn't actually hurt him. Jamie had no idea where she was going but she needed find some way of warning the Enterprise not to send anyone else down here.

She slammed right into Korob. She looked at him, and for a second, she thought that he was gonna chain her up again.

"Come on." He pulled her into his room as Hiri searched for her. "I can't control what Sylvia is doing anymore. She's become irrational and dangerous. I'm sorry that you and your people got mixed up in all this. I will help you get your men out of here."

"How?"

He handed her a wand of some kind, "That is the key to everything… including Sylvia's power. I must ask you… you and the one you called Hikaru. Are you his?"

"Yes," she nodded.

Korob sighed, "He is a lucky man to have a woman such as yourself fight for him."

"He fought for me last time around," Jamie smirked. "What do I do with this thing?"

Before he could answer her, the door was forced open. Hikaru, Scotty, Bones and Spock were all there under Sylvia's control. "Korob, you should know better." Jamie hid the wand behind her back as Sylvia shot the man with one of the phasers. "Oh, child. You know you can't win."

Jamie looked at the men she loved, "You took from me the only thing that mattered. You got two seconds to let them go…"

"Or you'll do what? You don't have a clue on how to use that thing. Just give it to me and I'll let you leave."

"Not without them," Jamie growled.

Sylvia looked at the men with her, "What makes them so important, child?"

Jamie looked at Hiri, Bones, Spock and Scotty, "They're my family." She shattered the wand and undid everything... almost everything.

At the away team's feet were two small aliens that withered and died. Jamie looked the guys as they quickly returned to themselves.

"When did you get here, lass?" Scotty asked as he rubbed his eyes. She pulled her friend into a hug.

"Long story, Monty," she sighed. "I'll tell you later.

Hiri looked at her as she moved to hug him, "Are you crying?"

She nodded against his chest, "Yea. I thought we lost you guys."

"Never, Dejah."

Jamie chuckled, "John Carter? Really?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Annie, A Tale of Two Cities or John Carter of Mars.


	4. Chapter 4

Jamie wondered who came up with the phrase 'All good things come to an end' because she was gonna hurt them. Three months. They've been out in the black for three months on –what she calls easy- assignments when a comm from home stopped her dead in her tracks.

Jamie spent most of Beta shift working on a project with Scotty. When she went to her quarters, she walked into a conversation between Hikaru and his parents. "What are you talking about, mom?" From the look on his face, something was very wrong.

" _She won't comm us back. It's not just us, her friends haven't heard from her or anyone on the ship for the last few days, either. I think something's wrong, Hikaru_." He glanced up at Jamie who nodded and left the room. She didn't have to say anything, from what Yoshiko just told him, Yuki hasn't contacted them from her training cruise.

Jamie went to the bridge and looked at the officer manning Uhura's station, "I need you to contact the Armstrong." The communications officer did as she asked and a look crossed his face.

"I'm not getting anything, Captain. No response, ma'am, not even an emergency message."

She nodded, "Get me Admiral Komack. Send it to my ready room." Jim walked into her office and sat at her desk. A really bad feeling settled in her chest.

* * *

" _It's none of your concern, Kirk_."

She sighed, "So something is wrong, sir."

" _We lost contact with them thirty-one hours ago near the Vintaak System. We have a team on their way to investigate_ ," Komack told her.

"We're a few hours away. Let us look, sir. What could it hurt?" she asked.

The admiral looked at her, " _How do you even know about this, Kirk_?"

"The Armstrong is conducting a training cruise, some of my officers taught those cadets while the Enterprise was under repair. When the ship stopped returning comms and messages from their families, the families started contacting us. I doubt I'm the only ship who's noticed." Judging by the look on his face, she was right. "Given the losses my class sustained over Vulcan, you can't blame them for being worried. I contacted you when my messages to the ship were met with silence." So, she starched the truth a tiny bit and she didn't mention that her mother was on the ship but he didn't have to know that.

He sighed, " _You can go. See if you can figure out what happened to the Armstrong_."

Jamie nodded, "We'll do our best, sir." He closed the comm and Jamie walked onto the bridge, "McKenna, divert to the Vintaak system. Hawkins, get the senior staff up here." Both men nodded and carried out the orders she gave them.

* * *

"You wanna hit something?"

Hiri chuckled, "It won't do me any good right now. I just… thirty-one hours and the brass didn't bother to say anything."

"Komack sent a ship. We just happen to be closer," she said.

He gave her a look, "I'm not sure if that's better or worse, Jamie. Like they could really forget that we're out here."

Jamie took the three steps to him and held his face in her hands, "We will figure out what happened to the Armstrong. Maybe Yuki and Winona are okay… maybe they aren't. We'll deal with whatever we find."

"I thought I was the rational one," he said with a small smile.

"That's what I let you think. Bones says we're both crazy, so…"

"I guess we better get to work," Hikaru rested his forehead against hers.

Jamie pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "You're right, Sokka. Let's go find Katara."

"You and Pavel need to stop watching The Last Airbender," he laughed.

She shook her head, "Never. Aang is one badass kid."

* * *

The Armstrong was a mess.

"Scans show three hundred and sixty-seven lifesigns, Captain," Spock told her. With a total crew of three hundred and ninety, that was good news.

"Keptin, zheir comms, shields, veapons are all down. Power iz down. Life support is minimum."

Jamie looked at Hikaru, "Any idea why?"

"There is substantial weapons damage to the ship, ma'am," he told her. "They're sitting ducks."

She took a deep breath, "Spock, Chekov and Scotty, you're with me. Uhura have Bones and a med team meet us in the transporter room, you have the con."

She would take Hikaru but he'd be a liability if he went and leaving him in command wasn't a good idea. He knew how she thought, so she didn't have to fight with him on it. He also knew that Jamie knows how he feels.

She doesn't talk about what happened to Sam but she's been in Hikaru's shoes; she just hoped that it didn't turn out the same way. "Stay alert. We don't know what happened to them and we don't want to end up like that if we can help it." Uhura acknowledged the order as the away team left the bridge.

* * *

The inside of the Armstrong looked about as bad as the outside did, it reminded Jamie of the holos that Scotty showed her after Marcus and Khan laid waste to their ship. "Bones…"

He looked at her, "Take my team to medical. On it." Bones, Chapel and a pair of medics heading in the right direction.

"Scotty…"

"Me, Riley and Chekov to engineering."

She grabbed his arm, "My mother is the chief engineer on this ship. Yuki Sulu is one of the top engineering cadets. Keep your eyes open for them."

"Aye, lass. I'll comm you if I see 'em," her friend nodded. She looked at Spock and before she could say anything, he did.

"We should head to the bridge."

Getting to the bridge took twice as long as it should've but they made it. Unfortunately, the bridge was destroyed and was only pressurized by a force field.

"What the hell happened here?" She glanced at Spock and he looked as lost as she did. A lieutenant was walking past when Jamie looked at him, "LT, what happened to the bridge?"

The guy gave her a look, then noticed the captain's stripes on her arms, "We were attacked, ma'am. I don't know the details, just that the bridge was obliterated. Half the senior staff was killed, including our CO and CMO. Commander Velez, the XO, is now the acting captain and Commander Thomas, the chief engineer, is the acting XO."

Jamie thanked him for the info. If this was Jamie's ship, she'd either be in engineering or in the battle bridge, "Let's go find the CO." As they walked –and climbed- through the ship, Bones commed her.

" _I have Yuki. She's injured but nothing I can't fix. According to some of the officers, she got hurt saving some of the engineering team from an explosion_." She let out a breath that she didn't even realize she was holding.

"That sounds like a Sulu to me," Jamie muttered.

Bones chuckled, " _Yea, she's crazy like her brother. She'll be among the first transports back to the Enterprise. I gotta get back to work, the only doctor down here is a student_."

"Thanks, Bones," she said before she closed her comm.

Spock looked at her, "She is in good hands."

"Yea, she is."

When they got to the battle bridge the acting Captain let out a breath, "Captain Kirk. If you're here, then we aren't completely defenseless. Acting Captain Velez."

"Jamie Kirk. I got a team in medical and another in engineering. From the looks of it, we might have to pull you to the nearest star base. What happened?"

"Tholians."

* * *

The Tholian race was an extremely xenophobic, non-humanoid hermaphroditic species from the Alpha Quadrant with a 'propensity for precision.' The Armstrong was attempting to survey the area when they got the Tholian's attention. Apparently, they weren't _perfect_ enough and the ship made the mistake of not leaving the area fast enough for the Tholians. They were attacked making their exit from the sector. When they were nearly destroyed, the Tholians left them alone.

Jamie and Velez made the decision to move the Armstrong's crew to the Enterprise and use the tractor beam to tow the battered ship to the nearest star base. No strangers to having so many extra people on the ship, the Enterprise crew either doubled up with a friend or shared with someone from the Armstrong. Velez was a little surprised at how seamlessly the Enterprise's crew assisted his.

"No offence, but I kinda expected a mess from a twenty-six year old Captain," he told her honestly.

"None taken. In all fairness though, I'm almost twenty-seven and my mentor was Christopher Pike," she said with a smile. Velez chuckled as she led him to Uhura's quarters, the communications officer was rooming with Spock. "Here you are. We should be at Starbase Four in a few days. Velez, I know what it's like to get tossed the big chair. And while I've only been a captain for a little over two years, trust me when I tell you that you did an amazing job."

He nodded, "Thank you, Captain. Goodnight… or morning... or whatever time it is."

Jamie took a breath and headed to medical, it was crowded but organized and running smoothly thanks to the awesomeness that is her best friend.

"Don't tell me you're hurt," Bones grumbled.

She shook her head, "I'm not, I'm just checkin' in."

"Everyone has been treated. Those I could let go are gone."

Jamie nodded, "Yuki?"

"She's still out but Sulu is sitting with her. She's over there," he told her.

"How long has he been here?"

Bones looked at her, "A while. I keep trying to tell him to get some rest but he won't listen… like someone else I know."

"I'll take care of it. Thanks, Lenny." Jamie wasn't even remotely surprised that her boyfriend was still here.

He gave her a look, "Nobody calls me that."

"Your sister does," she chuckled.

"You're not my…" She gave him a look and he sighed in defeat. "Fine but not in front of my staff."

She nodded, "Deal. Get some rest." He waved her off but she knew he'd do what she asked. Jamie walked over the bed where her boyfriend was sitting next to his sister, "You need to get some sleep."

"Later," Hikaru shrugged.

"No, now. You've been here all day. You haven't eaten and you need some sleep. I'll stay with Yuki, go."

"You don't have to do that, Jamie."

She smiled, "I'd do anything for you and you know it. In this case, I'm staying for my own piece of mind. Don't make me have to order you to rest. Go."

* * *

"Jamie," the whispered word pulled the young captain out of her light nap.

"Winona. What are you doin' in here?"

Her mother looked at her, "Just checking on my crew. How's Cadet Sulu?"

"Bones says she should wake up in the next day. I'm more worried about Hikaru. I had to force him to get some sleep," Jamie sighed.

"You look like you should get some rest too," the older blonde smiled.

Jamie shook her head, "I can't leave her alone. Not that she really could be alone on a crowded starship."

"I just got a few hours of sleep, I'll stay and comm you both when she wakes up."

"I can't ask you to do that."

Winona smiled, "You don't have to. I'm your mother and I wasn't there when you needed me, let me be here, now. Besides, she's one of my cadets. I'll look after her while you get some sleep, Captain."

Jamie didn't have it in her to argue, so she nodded, "Okay. Thanks." Winona squeezed her shoulder and took Jamie's seat. The young captain went to her quarters, pulled off her uniform and crawled into bed.

"Who's with Kiki?" he mumbled as his arms wrapped around her.

"My mother."

* * *

"You should tell her about the time you and Jim caused that explosion."

Jamie rolled her eyes at her best friend, "Which one?"

"I blow stuff up all the time," Winona chuckled. "It's the mark of a good engineer."

Bones rolled his eyes, "So, she's gets her crazy from you." Everyone at the table laughed.

"Jamie's not crazy, you're just grumpy. You're like the grumpiest doctor I've ever met." They all looked at the source of the voice and Jamie smiled.

"Ignore him, Yuki."

"I plan to. Is seating by rank?" the cadet asked. Some ships still do that but the Enterprise wasn't one of them.

Jamie shook her head, "Nope and we have plenty of room."

Jamie moved closer to her mother and let the younger Sulu sit next to her. Yuki woke up six hours after Jamie left sickbay. After two days, Bones let the young engineer out of medical. They had one more day until they reached Starbase Four. After unloading the Armstrong, the Enterprise was tasked with taking the Armstrong's crew back to Earth.

"Did Hikaru tell you that Velez is putting me up for a commendation?" the younger Sulu asked.

Winona nodded, "If he didn't, I would've."

"You earned it," Jamie said.

"All I did was get hurt," Yuki sighed.

Before Jamie could say anything, Bones spoke, "You saved your shipmates. I know I'm a grump but that's because I've seen these idiots do a lot of dumb stuff. It's funny because I know, without a doubt, that there is nothing they wouldn't do for everyone on this ship. Darlin', you pulled a Jim Kirk."

"Awe… Bonesy has a heart," Jamie teased.

He kicked her under the table, "Watch it, Jim, or I'll find a reason to hypo you into next week."

"You do know that I _let_ you hypo me, right?" she asked.

Hikaru chuckled from behind her, "She can hold her own in a fight with Spock. If she didn't let you hypo her, you wouldn't and you know it." He kissed the top of his sister's head.

"Hiki," Yuki chuckled.

"Did she just call you Hiki?" Chekov asked, trying not to laugh.

"She did," Hikaru said. "Don't even think about it, _Pasha_."

Jamie chuckled, "Sisters get a pass on names. I called my brother Sam." They all looked at her and Winona smiled.

"His name was George," her mother told them. "If anyone else called him Sam he would glare at 'em and growl 'don't call me that'."

Scotty chuckled, "My sister calls me Gummy. She couldn't say Montgomery when she was little. It stuck."

Jamie looked at her best friend, "What about you, Bones?"

"Don't you dare. I told you…" he started.

"Not in front of your staff. This isn't your staff, it's mine. Besides, yours is tame compared to Hiki and Gummy," she laughed.

"Lenny," Bones sighed. "Donna, and sometimes Jim, calls me Lenny."

"Why do you call her Jim?" her mother asked.

Bones looked at Winona, "Payback for 'Bones'." Her mother looked at her and Jamie saw the question on her face.

"Third thing he ever said to me was 'I've got nowhere else to go, the ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I've got left is my bones.' So, I dubbed him 'Bones'."

He rolled his eyes, "Too bad you didn't listen to the second thing I've ever said to you."

"'Don't pander to me, kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. A solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seats. And while you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles, see if you're still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger, wrapped in darkness and silence.' I remember. Chris had a good laugh when I told him. Said it took some convincing on his part just to get you on the shuttle."

"You said all that and you still joined Starfleet?" Carol asked him.

He nodded, "It was Pike's fault."

"You know, if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have met me," Jamie pointed out.

Bones looked at her, "You have been a pain in my ass since the academy."

"But I'm also your bestest friend in the universe and you love me," she smiled.

"We all have our faults," he replied with a smirk.


	5. Chapter 5

"This is my favorite part. _'To be, or not to be, that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? To die, to sleep, no more; and by a sleep to say we end the heartache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished._

_To die, to sleep; to sleep, perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; for in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause: there's the respect that makes calamity of so long life; for who would bear the whips and scorns of time, the oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, the pangs of despised love, the law's delay, the insolence of office, and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes, when he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin?_

_Who would these fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know naught of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought; and enterprises of great pith and moment, with this regard, their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action. Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered_.'" Jamie smiled as she listened to Hikaru recite the line along with the actor in the performance they were watching.

Taking the Armstrong back to Earth gave the Enterprise a chance for some shore leave. With a little help from Barnett, Jamie snagged a few days off for her crew to relax. Shakespeare in the Park was something that has been around for centuries. Sitting on a blanket in the grass, Jamie was leaning back against Hikaru's chest as they watched the amateur performance of Hamlet.

"I love that part."

She smiled and whispered, "I can tell. No Hamlet nicknames, though." Jamie felt him chuckle against her back.

"Why?" She shifted in his arms so that she could look at him.

"They all died, babe," Jamie muttered.

Hiri kissed her behind the ear, "I know. It's a waste… Ophelia would've been a good one."

"Not really, she killed herself, Hiri."

"Good point. No Hamlet nicknames."

* * *

"Hey, Jim, have you seen the news feeds?" Bones asked her.

Jamie shook her head, "Nope. I mostly try to avoid them. Why?" He hit some commands on his PADD and slid it across the table to her.

"You and Sulu are the newest press target," Bones said. Jamie looked at the holo of her and Hiri walking down the street with his arm over her shoulder; the headline read 'Enterprise Captain dating Pilot?' Jamie quickly scanned the article.

"What the hell? It's not even a real story, just a bunch of conjecture," she muttered.

"It doesn't have to be a real story, kid. If I were you, I'd get with PR and make a statement. You and Sulu don't have anything to hide. You're both good at keeping your job separate from your relationship. But you need to get in front of the press before this all goes sideways and the brass transfers him away from you."

Jamie looked at her best friend, "Since when are you politically savvy?"

"I got stuck with this brat at the academy," he chuckled. "Turns out that even though she acts like an infant most of the time, she always knew what was going on around us. I paid attention." She reluctantly agreed with her best friend and pulled out her communicator to comm her boyfriend.

* * *

"You're scared."

Jamie rolled her eyes, "I'm not scared, I just don't like talking about myself."

"So talk about me," he kissed her temple. "You can tell everyone how amazing I am and how you couldn't live without me. Of course, you can go on and on about all my badass skills." She couldn't help herself, Jamie laughed.

"You're a goofball."

Hikaru nodded, "No shit, Sherlock. It's one of the many reasons you love me."

"I think you might be onto something, my dear Watson."

"Hmm, maybe you're Watson," he said.

Jamie shook her head, "No way. I'm Sherlock. I solve the mysteries and you're my sidekick."

"Sidekick, my ass," he said with a nudge.

"You know what, you're right. Sorry, Bones is Watson and you could be Irene Adler."

"No, and I'll give you two reasons. One, Irene is only in one of the original books. Two, she left Sherlock. I'd only leave if Starfleet made me... or I died. I can't control the first and I'ma fight like hell to prevent the second. How about this, we're both Sherlock?" he asked.

"Hmmm… two Sherlock's. That has possibilities. We're both beyond intelligent, badass, sexy. I can see it. I'm Sherlock and you're Holmes."

"Two parts of one amazing whole. Nice," Hiri smirked.

Jamie thought about it, "We could say that. In the interview, that we're parts of a whole. You and me, Bones, Spock, Scotty, Uhura, Chekov, even Carol. The Enterprise doesn't work without all of us. And part of what makes us who we are is how we interact with each other."

"See. There's that big beautiful brain I love so much. Nice work, Sherlock."

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "I do have my moments, Mister Holmes."

* * *

And once more with feeling. Their short leave came to an end and the Enterprise was back to their task of traveling to parts unknown. Jamie looked around her bridge as her crew worked,

"Lieutenant Uhura, whatcha got?"

The communications officer turned in her chair, "A distress call from the Starnes Expedition at the outpost on Triacus."

"Professor Matthew Starnes?" Jamie asked.

Uhura nodded, "Yes, Captain. You know him?"

"Yea, I had a life before the fleet," Jamie sighed. "Best professor I ever had, save Pike. He specializes in geography and archeology. The expedition on Triacus is a planetary survey, last I checked. How long until we get there, Chekov?"

The young officer turned to look at her, "At our current speed, ve vill arriwe in tvelwe hours."

"If we jump to warp seven?" she asked.

He did the math in his head, "Three hours, Keptin."

She looked at her helmsman, "Mister Sulu, if you'd be kind."

"Aye, Captain," he replied. Jamie watched as he hands flew along the console and the ship sped up. Most people wouldn't notice how fast the ship was going but Jamie could feel the warp core like it was her pulse, always there even if you're not paying attention.

* * *

Jamie took a deep breath as she walked out of the cave she was in with Spock. She couldn't put words to the feeling but it was beyond being uneasy. The feeling nearly overwhelmed her but the feeling wasn't her own, it was like someone –or something- wanted her to feel that way and she had to get out. Spock followed her and while he didn't show it, she knew he was worried.

"Jamie?"

"I'm fine, Spock. I… I just don't know what that was. Grab the data and let's get back to the ship. I wanna check on the children."

When Jamie, Bones and Spock beamed to the surface, they found the bodies of the scientists as well as the group's five children, who were alive. It was odd to her that they seemed to be okay with their parent's deaths, asking her to play and running around as Jamie and the officers she called down buried the adults.

Bones thought the avoidance was a psychological defense against trauma. It made think about her own attitude about her parents. Dealing with George's death was something that she's had to do her whole life but the idea of dealing with Winona's would be different. Even though they weren't like a normal mother/daughter but they were still family. She glanced at Spock as they were beamed back to the ship and she thought about his mother too. She could see from his older counterpart that Lady Amanda's presence in his life was a motivator and her death would play a role in how her Spock dealt with life.

After checking in with the bridge, Jamie went to the arboretum to check on the kids. Chapel was sitting with them as they had ice cream. "That looks good. What flavor is it?"

Tommy, Professor Starnes' son, smiled, "Pistachio and chocolate."

"Hmm, I should try that," Jamie said as she sat across from him. Chapel motioned that she'd get Jamie some while the captain talked to the children. In addition to Tommy, there was Mary, Don, Steve and Ray. "Did you guys like it on Triacus?"

They all shook their heads and Tommy looked at her, "It was stupid. Parents like stupid things."

She smiled, "Yea, sometimes they do." Jamie kept probing but they weren't talking. When she seemed to be getting something out of them, they ran around chanting the word 'busy.' After a while, Chapel took them to their quarters. Acting on instinct, Jamie had security posted on them.

Working in her office with Spock and Bones, they figured out from the data that the feeling she had in the cave was the same one that the scientists had before some force made them commit ritual suicide. That's also when she realized that they were moving.

"We're in orbit, Jim," Bones said. She turned to one of her consoles and pulled up the readings from the bridge.

"No, Bones, we're moving. I have no idea where we're going, though. I'm… I'm locked out. Spock?"

She watched as he entered his codes with the same result. They all looked at each other before sprinting on the bridge. They arrived as the children are chanting and a being called Gorgan appeared. The creature all but ignored her and the crew and issued orders to the children before his disappeared.

Jamie looked at her officers, "Sulu, set course for Starbase Four. Uhura, contact Command and fill them in."

Tommy looked at her with a smirk, "You're not in command anymore, Captain." Hiri hadn't budged and Uhura appeared to be having some kind of vision.

"Spock, send the message. Sulu, I gave you an order," she said but he didn't even move. It was like he wasn't even there, same with Chekov and the crew on the bridge. Jamie stepped closer to him and put her hand on his arm, "What do you see, Hikaru?" She hoped her touch and the use of his name would help her out, just a little.

"If I change course, we'll all be destroyed."

Everything goes a little hazy after that.

* * *

"What happened?" She looked at Spock, who still had an arm around her waist as they stood in the turbolift.

"I had to remove you from the bridge, Captain. It appears that Tommy has some form of power from the being. It affects your perception of everything around you. It's hold over me was no match for my logic."

Jamie nodded, "Of course not. You didn't save your girlfriend?" He gave her a look and she held up a hand, "I was kidding. Your first priority as first officer is the safety of the captain, I know. If we're gonna get the ship back, we gotta get to auxiliary control."

Man, nothing on the Enterprise is ever easy.

Jamie and Spock found Scotty and his officers under the children's influence too. They were forced to leave the room after the Scotsman got agitated so they didn't have to hurt her chief engineer.

"Keptin, I must place you and Mister Spock under arrest," Chekov said. This was getting out of hand.

Jamie sighed, "You've gotta be kidding me. Where'd you get that order, Ensign?"

"Starfleet Command," the wiz-kid told her.

She shared a look with Spock, "They're fake orders, Chekov." That's when he pulled a phaser on them and ordered her to go to the brig. "Russia, forgive me." Jamie disarmed the kid, who's a lot stronger than he looks, while Spock took down the security officers. "Take them to the brig, then meet me on the bridge." Spock nodded at her order and pointed the phaser at the three officers. She sprinted to the turbolift and stepped onto the bridge to find Tommy and Mary there hovering over the bridge crew. "This ends now."

Tommy shook his head, "You will understand."

"I'm not under your hold and if my people weren't, they wouldn't understand. And they wouldn't take you to Marcos Twelve," she told him.

"Gorgan is our friend, he promised. We will win," Tommy said.

She looked at the little boy, "Then why isn't he here? Why make you do his bidding? You don't make your friends do things like this. Summon him and let him tell me. What's he got to hide?" She glanced at Spock who played back the recording of the children chanting on the bridge. After a moment, Gorgan appeared.

"Who has summoned me?"

Jamie looked at the creature, "I did. It's time I took my ship back."

"You are not in control, I am," Gorgan said.

She glanced at her first officer, "Play the footage we found."

Spock nodded and played the footage of the children on Triacus, playing with their parents, followed by images of the parents lying dead, then by the headstones marking their graves. She watched as the emotions played on the children's faces. Jamie never thought she'd appreciate the sound of gut wrenching sobs but they were helping.

"Without followers, your power is useless," Spock told the being. Without the children, Gorgan morphed into a grotesque being with a face of drooping flesh.

Jamie knelt to Mary's level, "It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay."

As Gorgan disappeared, he began shouting "Death to you all!"

Jamie held the child in her arms as Mary wrapped her own arms tightly around Jamie's neck.

"We're… Captain, Marcos Twelve is dead ahead. How the hell…?" Hikaru asked. She breathed a sigh of relief that he sounded like himself.

"Get us to Starbase Four, Sulu. Then, all of you get your reliefs up here and get some rest," she ordered just as Doctor Grumpy stepped onto the bridge.

"Not that I want to see crying kids but this is a good thing, Jim," Bones said.

She nodded at her best friend, "You have no idea, Bonesy."

* * *

" _In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon. And there were three little bears sitting on chairs. And two little kittens. And a pair of mittens. And a little toy house. And a young mouse. And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush. And a quiet old lady who was whispering 'hush'._ " Jamie put her fingers to her lips at the last part, earning a giggle from the children.

" _Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon. Goodnight light. And the red balloon. Goodnight bears. Goodnight chairs. Goodnight kittens. And goodnight mittens. Goodnight clocks. And goodnight socks. Goodnight little house. And goodnight mouse. Goodnight comb. And goodnight brush. Goodnight nobody. Goodnight mush. And goodnight to the old lady whispering 'hush'. Goodnight stars. Goodnight air. Goodnight noises everywhere_."

"Do another one, Captain Jamie."

She smiled, "Sorry, kids. It's my bedtime too. Get some sleep and we'll have pancakes for breakfast."

Don looked at her, "Chocolate chip?"

"Of course, we'll even put whipped cream on 'em and have some bacon." Bones was gonna complain at her for it, which was all the more reason for her to do it. The kids all smiled as she kissed the top of their heads and wished them goodnight. Jamie headed for the door but stopped in her tracks when she realized that she was being watched.

"You know _Goodnight Moon_ by heart?" Hiri asked.

"Yes, I do." She linked her arm around his as they stepped into the turbolift, "Sam used to tell it to the kids on Tarsus." Jamie really missed her brother.

"What's that look?"

She shook her head, "Nothing."

"Liar. Tell me," he said as they walked into her quarters.

"I wonder what Sam would be like. I look at Tommy and he reminds me so much of my brother."

She doesn't talk about Sam or what happened a lot but Hikaru and Bones are usually the people she spills her guts too about the brother who gave his life protecting her and a bunch of kids.

Hiri smiled, "Close your eyes." She nodded and did as he asked, not sure where her boyfriend was going with this. "Hmm, your brother would be married with a hot, scientist wife, they met in a lab. They would have a son, who's middle name would be James because you're awesome and he'll have the Kirk eyes. They wouldn't be fleet but they would work for the Federation. He'd give me the whole 'you hurt her and I'll kill you' speech and you'd roll your eyes at him when he did. You two would drink beers together while I hung out with your nephew, Jack worked the grill and your sister-in-law would gossip with your mom."

"Your folks will be there too."

He nodded, "Okay, dad and Jack work the grill while mom and Winona gossip with your sister-in-law."

She could picture it and it brought a smile to her face, "I like it."

"Good. Now, bedtime." Jamie shook her head as she starting pulling off her uniform.

"Nope, I'm gonna take a shower first."

"Please tell me that I'm invited," he said.

She kissed his neck, "You're always invited."

Hiri chuckled, "That sounds like my kind of party."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Hamlet, Sherlock Holmes or Goodnight Moon.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, Deadpool, I'm bringing the party to you," she said into her comm.

Jamie could hear Hikaru laugh on the other end, " _I'm not obnoxious enough to be Deadpool. Warpath, maybe. What does that make you_?" Jamie thought as she ran through the underbrush on this planet with a bunch of locals hot on her tail.

"I don't know. Captain America. Black Widow. Iron Man. Rogue. Captain Marvel. Pick one."

" _I think you could be a mix of all five. We see you, there's a slight drop in front of you. Jump in ten seconds._ " Jamie didn't hesitate, she counted to ten and jumped right where he told her to. She saw the shuttle, hatch open and the rest of the away team already inside.

"I have visual, Sulu. We're gonna need a quick exit, they are _mad_ at me," she told him.

That was an understatement. They pissed off the local chieftain, who tried to have them executed. She still doesn't know what they did wrong and Jamie stopped trying to figure it out after they almost killed Chekov.

Jamie ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped, landing in the shuttle with Hendorff catching her around her waist. "I'm in, Sulu. Get us out of here. Nice catch, Cupcake."

The burly security office chuckled, "Anytime, ma'am."

"How's the kid, Bones?" Jamie asked as she unzipped her jacket.

"He'll live. You hurt, Jim?" the doctor asked as he patched up Chekov.

She shook her head, "Nothing a shower and some sleep won't fix."

"If I ask Sulu that question later, what's he gonna say?" her best friend huffed. Jamie glared at the back of Bones' head.

"I have some cuts and bruises but nothing that would require your expertise. Geez, Bones. Like I said, a shower and some sleep." She walked to the front of the shuttle and dropped into the empty co-pilot's seat.

Hikaru glanced at her, "We're not that far from the ship." There was an interference from the planet that made beaming down and communications impossible.

"With the way you fly, I'm not surprised," she smiled.

"What's wrong with how I fly?" he asked, mock hurt coloring his tone.

Jamie smiled, "Nothing. I wish I was that good."

"I guess Captain Marvel's out. Carol Danvers was in the old school Air Force. Rogue's out too, she was a bad guy first anyway. You're probably a mix of Captain America's dedication, Iron Man's brains with Black Widow's hotness. All that tight, black leather, I bet you could pull it off."

Jamie laughed, "So, Captain Iron Widow?"

"Something like that," Hiri shrugged. "We're clear of the atmosphere, comms are back."

Jamie smiled as she input the commands on the console to talk to the Enterprise, "Shuttle Archer to Enterprise. Have a med team stand by in the shuttle bay, ETA fourteen minutes." Uhura acknowledged the order and Jamie could hear the relief in the other woman's voice. Jamie cut the comm and looked at Sulu, "What would you do if I got my hands on a black leather catsuit?"

He glanced back at the rest of the shuttle before he looked at her with that sparkle in his eyes that drove her crazy, "You know exactly what I'd do, Jamie."

* * *

"If she comes back, I'm gonna kill her," Jamie growled.

"It doesn't look promising but if anyone can, it's probably you," Hikaru chuckled.

The Enterprise was investigating a planet that was almost the same size as Luna with a mass and atmosphere similar to Earth. What was odd about the planet was that it's age was less than the indigenous vegetation and atmospheric content would indicate.

Jamie, ever the curious one, decided to take a team down. The transporter room is where the whole mission went to hell before it started. As Jamie, Bones, Hikaru and geologist Doctor D'Amato were being transported down, a mysterious woman appeared. She told them that they 'must not go' before she touched Lieutenant Wyatt, the transport operator, killing him. Stuck mid-transport, the away team couldn't do anything but watch.

Once on the planet, Jamie attempted to comm Spock to warn him about the woman but before she could, a powerful tremor rocked the planet. D'Amato's tricorder read an energy burst of power that was almost too high to measure. Jamie couldn't raise the Enterprise on her communicator when Sulu figured out that the Enterprise was no longer in orbit, effectively stranding the landing party on the planet.

The four officers tossed around theories about what happened to the ship but nothing they came up with fit any of the facts that they did have. While concerned about the ship, Jamie knew that they'd eventually need food and water so she ordered an analysis of the resources. The news was not good; all vegetation on the planet is poisonous to humans, there is no evidence of rainfall or surface water and the only other form of life is a virus-like plant parasite.

Hikaru registered a sudden magnetic reading that quickly dissipated while Bones detected a powerful lifeform reading that appeared and then disappeared. These fluctuations occurred as the same woman who appeared in the transporter room of the Enterprise confronted D'Amato. Jamie made a move to protect him but the woman touched the geologist, killing him right before their eyes and vanished. Bones scanned D'Amato's body and found that his cells were all disrupted from the inside out.

"We gotta get out of here," Jamie muttered.

Bones rolled his eyes, "I can't believe we're gonna die on this godforsaken planet. I'm blaming you for this, Jim."

"You know good and damn well that we'll figure out an exit," Jamie said.

"Before or after we starve to death?" the southerner asked.

She sighed, "That is the million credit question, Bones. We'll dig his grave. Let me know when you're done." Bones nodded but didn't say anything. Jamie and Hikaru moved a few feet away from Bones and the body and attempted to dig a grave with their phasers, nothing happened.

"That's new," Hikaru said as he knelt above the spot. He opened his tricorder and scanned again. "There's no indication that we just fired at the ground, Captain. If I had to guess, this place is fake. It's likely that the whole planet is artificial." Before Jamie could say anything, the woman appeared again.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Jamie asked.

The woman looked at Hikaru, "I am for Sulu." The woman made a move to touch him but Jamie was just as fast, getting between the two of them. The woman touched Jamie right in the center of her chest before making a face and vanishing again.

Bones ran over, "Are you crazy, Jim?"

She chuckled, "Jury's out on that. Why didn't she kill me?" Bones and Hikaru looked at each other.

"She told D'Amato that she was only for him," Bones said to them.

"She just said the same thing to me. Maybe she has to focus her attacks or something," Hiri said.

Jamie chuckled, "Of course. She can't kill more than one person and it has to be the person she was after. I got in her way and she couldn't handle it."

Hikaru smiled, "I think we can beat her. We just gotta keep her away from whoever she's after. Maybe hold hands."

"I can't wait to write my logs for this one. This is some 'Quiet Earth' type stuff," Jamie mumbled.

"The Omega Man," Hiri offered.

She countered, "The Last Woman on Earth."

"Uh… I'm not sharing my girl with McCoy. The Last Andorian."

"Oblivion," Jamie smiled.

Bones shook his head, "I am Legend, the book, not the movies. And 28 Days Later."

She looked at her best friend, "That's a zombie movie."

"Sorta. There's a good part in the beginning where the main guy, I don't remember his name… anyway, there's a good part with him just walking around London and everyone is gone. Since he was in a coma, he doesn't know why. Fits in with the last man on earth thing you two are doin'. Oh my God, I can't believe I just got pulled into that," Bones groaned.

"Oh, come on. We gotta keep ourselves distracted until we figure this all out, she comes back or the Enterprise rescues us," she smiled.

"You think they'll come back? What if they've been destroyed?" her best friend asked.

"If they were destroyed, and I doubt it, then we'll figure something out. If they're out there, they'll come for us."

"How can you be so sure, Jim?" Bones asked quietly.

Jamie smiled, "You guys brought me back from the dead, Bones. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing the crew of the Enterprise can't do."

"She's got a point, doc. I'm sure Spock and Scotty are coming up with a solution as we speak. All we gotta do is hang tight until they get here," Hikaru shrugged.

The woman came back but the guys kept her away from Jamie, her new target. The captain managed to get a ton of information from the woman who called herself Losira, the commander of the station. The Starfleet officers found out that she didn't want to kill them but her job was to protect the station. After Losira disappeared again, they followed their tricorder readings to an underground door that lead to the planet-station.

Jamie, Bones and Hikaru found a computer room, once inside, they were confronted with three versions of the destructive woman, each programmed to kill one of them. The away team seemed to be out of options when Spock and Hendorff showed up and destroyed the computer. The three women disappeared and were replaced by a recorded image of Losira. In the recording, she welcomes her fellow Kalandans to the colony. The Losira recording explained that a disease they accidentally produced when they created the planet destroyed the population and she was the last survivor. She didn't believe that she'd survive until help arrived, so she set the station defense mechanism on automatic to defend against other life forms.

"Does this mean we can go home now? Where were you, by the way? What took so long?" Jamie asked.

Spock looked at her, "Yes. I will explain on the ship. It is part of the explanation."

Jamie chuckled, "I missed you, Spock."

He raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure that you would not prefer to remain here with Lieutenant Sulu, Captain?"

Bones and Hendorff both laughed and Jamie smiled, "You're teasin' me. I never thought I'd see the day."

Spock nodded, "Nor did I, Captain. Perhaps, I have spent too much time in Mister Scott's company."

* * *

"What's wrong?"

Jamie looked up at Hikaru and smiled, "Nothing. I can't sleep and I didn't want to wake you."

"Reaching out and you're not there is a damn good way to wake me up, just for future reference. You gonna tell me what's up?" he asked.

"Just thinking. Can't turn my brain off," Jamie sighed. Hiri sat on the couch next to her.

"Anything in particular? Someone's upcoming twenty-eighth birthday, for instance? Or the fact that we've been out here a year already? Or Pike?"

"All three. That's creepy, you know," she said.

"That I got you pegged? Come on, that's not new, Jamie."

She chuckled, "I know. I just… nevermind."

He shook his head, "None of that. Tell me what's bothering you. I'll get it out of you one way or another so you might as well tell me."

"I just feel old. I know, it sounds crazy to you because you're younger than me but… sometimes…"

"You feel like you're older than you are. You've been through a lot and every time you think it's over, you get pulled into something else. To most people, turning twenty-eight isn't a big deal but you feel like you've been fighting longer than that. And you think that you shouldn't have made it that long; technically you didn't. Doesn't help that you're the youngest captain in the fleet. How am I doin'?"

Jamie looked at him, "I'm gonna have Bones check to make sure you aren't a mind reader. Creepy, I tell you."

"I don't read minds, I just know how you think. I got a vested interest in what's in your head. If I'm being honest, I see it in your eyes all the time. Like you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. You should stop doin' that."

"I can't just turn it off; it's kept me alive this long," she muttered.

Hiri chuckled, "You're afraid to let your guard down. I can tell."

"For the first time in my life, I am really, truly happy. The last time I got close was right before they took my ship, then Chris died. I don't want something to happen to you. I honestly don't know what I'd do." She looked at their joined hands.

Hikaru smiled, "I could be all macho and say some crap about being hard to kill, which I am, but I know good and damn well that you'd never let anything happen to me, Jamie."

"True. I'd have to hurt someone for even messing with you."

"Like that Losira chick. I could've sworn you were gonna say something dumb like 'bitch get away from my man'."

Jamie laughed, "I would not. I… okay I might've said something stupid. I was thinking it. Man, aren't we a pair."

"We are. I just gotta get you over that whole self-loathing thing and we'd be golden," he said.

"You know, one of these days, I'm gonna be the mature one, Hiri."

He shook his head, "You're the wildcard. You have to be or we're all in trouble."

"You know what I mean, babe."

Hikaru nodded, "I know but I like the wildcard thing, babe. It's hot. Come on, you gotta sleep, Captain."

"I might need a little help with that."

"You're just in luck; putting sexy young captains to bed is one of my specialties."

* * *

"It's not impossible."

Hiri looked at her like she was crazy, "You guys are gonna try it, aren't you?"

"If anyone can build a TARDIS, it's Scotty and Chekov. I'd be The Doctor, will you be my companion?"

He laughed, "I'm already your companion. I'm in as long as we don't encounter any Daleks, Doctor."

"Why not? They're so cool. EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE," Jamie did her best interpretation of the Doctor Who villains.

Hikaru shook his head, "I like the Weeping Angels. Don't blink. They're almost impossible to beat. Oh, and the Master keeps coming back from the dead."

"That's easy, I can do that one. What about the Cybermen? You will be deleted," Jamie chuckled.

He shook his head, "You're so adorkable. How old is that show anyway?" She did the math in her head.

"Two hundred and ninety-seven. They took some breaks but still the original is in 2D, black and white analog."

He let out a low whistle, "You think people will remember us in three hundred years?"

Jamie nodded, "We saved the world, so probably."

"They'll remember that you saved the world. The pilot won't be on anyone's radar," he told her.

She ran her fingers though his hair, "Of everyone on this ship, it is my firm belief that you will be first to leave. You're too good of an officer to turn down any of the amazing things that will come your way."

"Sounds like you're trying to get rid of me, babe."

"No," she smiled. "It's just… You are extraordinary, Hikaru Sato Sulu. I know it, you know and the brass knows it. You're not gonna be my pilot forever. There will come a day when you get an offer that's too good to pass up and if you try, I'll kick your ass. You're gonna make history on your own, mark my words."

"You really think so?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yep. I should start calling you 'Captain Sulu' now so you can get used to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Deadpool, Warpath, Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man, Rogue, Captain Marvel, The Quiet Earth, The Omega Man, The Last Woman on Earth, Oblivion, I am Legend (book or movie), 28 Days Later or Doctor Who.


	7. Chapter 7

Where was she? Who was she? The woman tried to open her eyes but her eyelids were too heavy. She tried to move but she got nothing. Why the hell can't she move? It felt like she was being held down by something but she didn't know what. She tried to open her eyes again but it was no use. The young woman started running through her options when she heard a crash outside the room. Fighting. Someone was fighting. How did she know that?

A door opened near her and she heard heavy footsteps on the floor. She was trying not to panic, but even if she did there was nothing she could do about whatever was coming her way.

"I found her. Captain, can you hear me?" the voice sounded like it was underwater but she recognized it. Captain? She was a captain… of a ship. A starship. "Captain Kirk?" the voice asked. The voice made her think about food; something with a C. Carrots... Cookies... that's not right. She attempted to nod at the man to tell him that she could hear him but it was no use. "She's out, Sulu. I think they gave her something."

"We'll carry her, Hendorff. We gotta move now, Spock's team is already on their way back to the shuttle," the other man said. She knows that voice, the feeling in her chest told her that it belonged to someone special. He confirmed that feeling when he pressed a kiss against her temple, "We're gonna get you outta here. Stay with me, Jamie."

She wanted to nod, to tell him that she understood but she couldn't open her eyes. Jamie –her name was Jamie- felt herself being lifted into a pair of strong arms.

The first man, "I got her, Sulu. Let's get outta here before she wakes up and kicks my ass."

The second man chuckled, "Like she doesn't do that on the mats anyway. Come on, exit's this way." She doesn't know how long they were moving but there came a point when she could tell they were outside. The warmth of the sun on her face was a welcome feeling. "Hendorff, run. Get her out of here," the second man –Sulu- said.

"What about you?" Hendorff asked.

"I'm right behind you," Sulu's voice was strained, like he'd been hurt. "Get her back to the Enterprise, if you have to leave without me than you do it just get her home."

The big man waited a second before he took off, towards what, she didn't know. She felt it when they were in shelter. It was colder and the sun was gone. "Doc, take her, I'm goin' back for Sulu. If she wakes up and he's not there…" Hendorff told another man as he handed her over. The arms were strong and warm; the man smelt like home, like family.

"It won't be pretty, I know. Make it quick, Lieutenant. What'd you do to yourself this time, Jimmy?" the new man asked. The sound of his voice washed over her, protective and worried. "And what did your boyfriend do to get you outta there? I swear the two of you are just as crazy as crazy can be." She felt something cold press against her neck and Jamie felt herself losing a battle to stay…

"What… what happened?" she asked no one in particular. Jamie blinked her eyes open and realized that she was back on the Enterprise and in sickbay.

The man in the bio-bed next to hers chuckled, "You don't remember?"

Jamie shook her head, "If I remembered, I wouldn't be asking, Hiri. I heard you and Hendorff. Bones too. Beyond that, it's all… Total Recall. I don't know what was real and what wasn't."

"The short version: you went down to do some diplomatic thing, they kidnapped you, tried to tell us that you wanted to stay, wammied you so you wouldn't remember anything, we broke in, pulled you out and doc got the drug outta your system. It's been an interesting three days."

"Is 'wammied' really a word?" she asked.

Hikaru laughed, "That's your question?"

"I understood the rest of it but 'wammied', Hiri. Really? Is that even a real word?"

He shrugged, "I think it is and I'm awesome, so it stays."

"Yes, sir. What'd you do to yourself, anyway?" she asked.

"Got shot on our way out, Douglas Quaid. You're welcome," Hiri told her.

Total Recall is a good movie. She likes the original for the story, the 2010 version for the actors –the girls are badass and that John Cho dude was a hottie- and the 2151 version is cool, the other versions of the movie sucked.

Jamie sighed, "Want me to kiss it better when Bones lets us outta here?"

"You can kiss any part of me you want. Just… never do that to me again. You scared the shit outta me."

She nodded, "I'm sorry, babe. It couldn't be helped. How do you think I felt? I couldn't move, I couldn't talk. I recognized your voices but I couldn't say anything, it was… terrifying. I was scared. I didn't even know who I was until you and Cupcake started talking."

"If you need me to jog your memory, I'm more than willing to show you a few things I know you won't forget," he said with a smirk.

Jamie was about to answer him when Bones jumped into the conversation, "Not in my medbay you're not."

"We wouldn't dream of it, Bones."

Hikaru snickered, "Speak for yourself. You didn't see that dress they had you in."

* * *

"This is just my fuckin' luck," Jamie muttered. Spock didn't say anything, not that she expected him to.

The commanding officer of the USS Enterprise and her amazing first officer were trapped in a turbolift. It wouldn't have been a big deal on any other day but today wasn't like any other day. The ship was under heavy attack, the engineers had their hands full and the comms cut out on them after Jamie notified the bridge.

The captain of the ship sat down on the deck. As long as the emergency systems held, the lift wasn't going anywhere but it was too dangerous to climb out into the tubes. "You might as well sit down, Spock," she told the other person in the turbolift.

He looked at her, "That is unnecessary."

"Suit yourself," Jamie muttered.

The pair had come a long way from their days of academic review boards and fistfights on the bridge but Spock was still stoic as ever.

"How long do you think we'll be in here?" she asked.

Spock looked at her, "I do not know. I must have all the variables to give you an answer to that question, Jim." She smiled at the use of the nickname that only a handful of people get to use. Jamie leaned against the bulkhead and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, the ship stopped their evasive maneuvers and went to maximum impulse which meant that the fighting was over.

She sighed, "At least the ship is moving."

They stayed like that for a while when the turbolift finally started moving again. Jamie was a bit curious as to who was in command. Spock was usually on the bridge during Beta shift but he had a project to oversee. Jamie thought about the officers who usually man the bridge during Beta and wondered who Spock would've let in the chair. Before she could ask, the doors opened to the bridge. Spock helped Jamie to her feet and they stepped out together.

The place was a bit of a mess but everyone was working their asses off and following orders from the duty officer. Jamie bit back a laugh, "I should've known. How'd you end up in the chair?"

"Ran up here when the fighting started, Samson said you and Spock were trapped in the turbolift and Scotty's in Engineering, which made me the ranking officer on the bridge. You guys okay?" Hikaru said as he stood from the chair.

"Got tossed around a little but other than that we're good. Gimme a status, Mister Sulu."

* * *

"I was having such a good day too," Bones muttered as the group of officers was led into a pit of some kind.

Jamie, Bones, Sulu, Hendorff and Kai were investigating a distress signal on an uncharted planet. They found the wreckage of the small ship but none of the seven people that should've been aboard; dead or alive. Apparently, the locals were closer than the scans said they were and the away team was overpowered, unarmed and captured. Then, the officers were chained to each other and led through some kind of compound.

Jamie glanced at Sulu and then his hands. He gave her a quick nod and glanced at Bones, who was chained next to her. Jamie smirked and gave him a nod.

"We need to get outta here," the southerner muttered.

Jamie smiled, "We're working on it, Bonesy."

"Is that what you call making eyes at Sulu?" he huffed.

Hiri chuckled, "On a normal day, it's making eyes. Today, however, is not normal."

The pair of command officers slipped their cuffs, Jamie went for the guard next to Bones and Hikaru attacking the guard next to Hendorff. Kai, still restrained, was strong enough to strangle another guard using the chain. Hikaru got the keys and un-cuffed Bones, Hendorff and Kai.

"How'd you two do that?" her best friend asked.

"What? The conversation we had just by looking at each other? Or slipping the cuffs?" Hiri asked with a smirk.

Bones looked at him, "Both."

"The conversation thing is easy, we've all managed that one at some point. The cuffs were trickier and you're gonna flip if we tell you," Jamie said.

"Try me," Bones snorted.

"We dislocated our thumbs," Hikaru muttered.

Bones' hazel eyes locked onto her blue, "You did what?"

Jamie sighed, "Keep it down or the rest of the guards will come this way. We do it all the time on the ship for moments just like this one. I'm trying to beat his time but he's always a second faster than me. It's annoying."

"What are you two, Bonnie and Clyde?" Bones glared at her.

"Talk about throwback references, that's goes way back. Give a lady a boost, Clyde," she said to Hiri.

"Anything for my Bonnie," Hikaru quipped as he helped her climb out of the pit.

"I'll distract the feds while you boys climb on outta there," Jamie told them in her best –horrible- Texas accent.

Bones took a breath, "There's something very wrong with you two."

"Says the aviophobe who works on a starship. Maybe we're not the problem, doc," Hikaru whispered just loud enough for them all to hear. Jamie stifled a laugh at the look she knew was on her friend's face and got down to the task at hand; getting the hell outta here.

* * *

"Мишка косолапый по лесу идёт. Шишки собирает, песенки поет. Шишка отвалилась прямо мишке в лоб. Мишка рассердиля и ногою топ!" little Pavel sang.

Bones raised an eyebrow as he tried to check the five-ish year old boy over, "What the h… What is he singing?"

"A clumsy little bear was walking through the forest. He was gathering pine cones and singing songs. A pine cone fell directly onto his forehead. The little bear got angry and stamped his foot!" Jamie told him.

Uhura sighed, "It's a children's song from Russia… it loses something in translation. Jim, you're Russian has gotten better."

"That's because I've been practicing with Chekov. How long is my twenty-one year old navigator gonna be this cute little five year old, Bonesy?" Jamie asked.

Her best friend shrugged, "No way to tell until me and Spock can analyze all this information and that could take a while. In the meantime, I suggest getting him some lunch and finding something for him to do that'll keep him outta trouble." Bones placed the small child in her arms.

"Whoa, me? Bones… I… I can't… I have a ship to run," Jamie sputtered.

The country doctor chuckled, "Today, you have a genius five year old to take care of. He likes you and you speak Russian. It's not like we're goin' anywhere until we figure out what happened to him down there. Sulu's his best friend, he'll back you up."

"You hungry, Pasha? Голодный?" Jamie asked, accepting Bones' logic.

The boy's precious little face lit up, "Я очень голоден. Это среднее человек обещал мне мороженое." Jamie and Uhura laughed.

Bones raised his eyebrow, "What did he say?"

Uhura smiled, "He said 'I am very hungry. That mean man promised me ice cream.'"

"I am not mean," Bones huffed.

"If you say so, Bones. Come on, Pasha. Ice cream it is," Jamie told the boy.

Bones glared, "He needs real food, Jim."

She chuckled as she walked out of the medbay with her small friend in her arms, "I know, I know." Jamie pulled out her communicator and sent Hikaru a message: _Congrats, it's a boy. Meet us in the galley, dad_.

Walking though the ship with an adorable little boy took longer than she thought it would. Half the crew wanted to know what happened to Chekov and the other half wanted to fuss over the cute cheeks and mini-uniform. They finally walked into the galley and Jamie spotted Sulu almost instantly.

"He looks like he could be your kid, Jamie," her boyfriend said as they joined him at the table.

"Don't you start that too. Pasha, this is Hikaru, do you remember him?" Jamie asked the boy.

Chekov looked at Hiri for a minute before he decided that it was okay to sit next to him and start talking to the helmsman in Russian. Hiri kept up with Pavel and motioned for Jamie to get the kid something to eat while he wasn't paying her any attention. As promised, she got him some ice cream; chocolate with nuts was his favorite. Jamie also managed to grab the kid a couple Pirozhki, this baked stuffed bun thing from Russia that can be filled with different things, in this case, beef and mushrooms. It was a good thing that Jamie paid attention to the kid's eating habits.

Jamie walked back to the table and her heart did a somersault, Pavel had moved onto Hiri's leg and they were having an animated conversation. Hikaru glanced up and her and winked before turning his attention back to his de-aged friend. She had to stop herself from dreaming up cute little half-Kirk, half-Sulu babies.

"Hey, Pash, Jamie brought you some ice cream," he told the kid. Pavel's eyes lit up and he began eating the cold desert while sitting on Hiri's lap.

"I guess it's true that every kid loves ice cream," Jamie muttered.

"Yep. You okay?" Hiri gave her a pointed look.

She sighed, "It's weird. I mean he's him but he's not. This is all my fault, he pushed me outta the way."

"Just like the rest of us would've done," Hikaru smiled. "Doc and Spock will figure it out. Besides, it's not like you'd want to revisit your childhood. We'd still be trying to get you out of the transporter room."

"I don't know. He recognizes us for the most part. I probably would've too. Well, you and Bones at the very least. But you're right, my childhood was not particularly good and I wouldn't have talked to any of you until Sam told me it was okay. Since he's dead…" she trailed off and watched her young friend finish his ice cream and move to the food.

"We'll fix him. In the meantime, we get to act like kids and nobody can say anything about it. Especially McCoy," Hikaru told her.

Jamie smiled, "That sounds like a plan."

It took three days but Spock and Bones figured out how to turn Chekov back. Jamie and Hikaru stood next to each other in the transporter room as they waited for whatever the scientists came up with to work. One minute, Pavel was five, then one beam out and beam in later, he was his normal, twenty-one year old self.

"ё моё. Let's newer do that again," Chekov muttered.

"Can do, kid. How do you feel?" Bones asked.

Pavel smiled, "Glad to be back in my right skin but a little sad that Jamie and Ru aren't my parents anymore. I can't vait to meet their children." The captain and the helmsman looked at each other.

Hiri smirked, "Look at our boy, sweetheart."

"They grow up so fast," she smiled. "We might have to get him a little brother."

"Or a sister. Would you like that, champ?" Hiri asked.

Chekov lightly punched his friend in the shoulder, "Don't make fun of me. I remember ewerything and you guys did a good job. Your children vill be wery lucky."


	8. Chapter 8

"The force is strong with this one. What do you think, Princess Leia?" Hiri asked after she flipped him on the mat.

Jamie chuckled, "I'm Han."

He shook his head, "No, I'm Han and you're Leia."

"Why, because I'm a girl?" she put her hands on her hips and looked at her boyfriend.

"No. It's because I'm the kickass pilot and you are my kickass girl who leads us against the evil-doers."

She groaned, "I'm more Luke than Leia if you think about it."

"Leia was a princess, adopted by Senator Organa or His Serene Highness, Prince Bail Organa, First Chairman and Viceroy of Alderaan and his wife, Queen Breha Organa of Alderaan. She grew up… rich and cared for by her adopted parents," Hiri sighed.

Jamie smiled, "Yep. And Luke was given to his uncle. Then one day he met a wise man, Obi Wan, who convinced him that he was a lot like his father and they set off to save everyone from the Empire. Who does that sound like?"

"You and Pike. Pike would be Obi Wan. Okay... That kinda makes a lot of sense now. He showed you the way of the force, Starfleet, before he was killed. And like Obi Wan died goin' up against Vader, Pike died fighting Marcus and Khan. You avenged his name and saved 'the Rebel Alliance' from getting creamed by the 'death star'. Let's just hope one of them wasn't your father," Hikaru told her.

"That would be… problematic and I doubt I would be happy about it. Anyway, the original point I was trying to make is that I have more in common with the guys in Star Wars than I do with Leia, but I suppose I could be her if you were my Han," she told him.

The pilot chuckled, "Okay. I gotta warn you though, I'm a firm believer that Han shot first."

"That's because he did. It doesn't matter how many times they remastered or rebooted it in the last three hundred years, Han shot Greedo and Greedo didn't get a shot off in the original version. Who knows what George Lucas was thinking."

* * *

"The Albino. What kind of name is that?" Bones asked.

Hiri sighed, "The kind that belongs to a Klingon who got his plans trashed by an eleven year old. He's a criminal, his real name is Qagh."

"If my name meant 'mistake', I'd go with Albino too," Jamie chuckled.

Bones nodded, "How do you know him, Sulu?"

"He tried to raid Ishikawa on Ganjitsu when my family lived there, he almost killed my mom and he killed my friend. I disabled the power in the lab and helped people get out before he blew the place up. That is one angry Klingon. He was raised by Orion pirates so I'm not surprised. Why?"

"His name came up when we talked to the brass this morning. They might be sending us after him," she told him.

The helmsman nodded, "Won't bother me, I owe him one for Jelani." Bones raised an eyebrow.

"His first love, she was killed by this guy," Jamie smiled.

"We were just friends, Jamie," Hikaru told her.

The southerner laughed, "If they send us, the Albino better watch out, Jim will kill him just because he hurt someone you cared about."

"I know she will, that's what makes her Jamie," her boyfriend said.

She smirked, "We all can't be this cool."

* * *

"They're Pinky and The Brain. Yes, Pinky and The Brain. One is a genius, the other is crazy. They're laboratory mice, their genes have been spliced. They're rinky and dinky. They're Pinky and The Brain, Brain, Brain…" Jamie and Hikaru sang as they stood on the transporter.

Bones rolled his eyes, "How old are you two, again?"

"Twenty-nine and twenty-five. Why?" Hiri asked her best friend.

"Just trying to figure out why the senior command officers in this tin-can keep reverting back to their childhoods," her best friend said.

Jamie sighed, "I didn't actually have a childhood, Bones. I was too busy being abused and trying not to starve to death… but thanks for the reminder. I had a nightmare, it put me in a really bad mood and Hiri's just trying to cheer me up."

"I'm sorry, kid," Bones grumbled.

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah… You know what… you guys don't need me on this mission. Mister Spock, it's all yours." She stepped off the transporter pad and handed Scotty her phaser. Jamie was not in the right mindset to go anywhere and since she wasn't actually needed, they could do without her. Her thoughts kept drifting to her nightmare and it made her uneasy. It wasn't even the worse nightmare she's ever had, it just felt like it was foreshadowing something really bad coming their way.

_Jamie blinked her eyes open and found herself on the ground in Riverside. She slowly pushed herself to her feet and looked around. The sun was shining bright and a gentle breeze was blowing, it was a beautiful day. Then, for no reason at all, everything changed. The sky darkened and the cornfields started to burn. She ran through the rows of corn as fast as her legs would take her towards the shipyard until she was cut off. Jamie turned to avoid the flames in front of her and kept running. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, like when she was in the warp core, but she kept running. She came to a small clearing but it was surrounded by fire. It closed in on her and she could hear 'all good things…' whispered on the wind. Then the flames overtook her_. That's what woke her up.

She spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling and watching Hikaru sleep. He knew something was wrong the second he woke up and saw her face. It took some convincing but she told him about her dream and he'd been trying to cheer her up since. He was making some progress until Bones opened his big mouth. She loved the doctor dearly but sometimes she wants to smack him in the back of his head.

"You okay, Captain?" Uhura asked her. Jamie nodded as she sat in the command chair but didn't say anything. Uhura knew she was lying but the other woman didn't say anything. The shift was mostly quiet while they monitored the away team down on the planet doing their agricultural study. Kevin Riley walking onto the bridge made Jamie's heart sink. He doesn't come on the bridge for no reason.

"Permission to enter the bridge," the young engineer said before he walked into the room. Jamie just gave him a nod and a wave, she was waiting for the hammer to drop. "Do you have a minute, Captain?" he asked her.

"Yeah, Riley. Uhura, take the conn." Jamie and her childhood friend stepped into her ready room. "What's up?" she asked him.

He handed her his PADD, "When I woke up this morning, I had this message in my inbox." Jamie looked at the device in her hands.

_-Kevin,_  
_I know Jai is a big shot and they have her contact information blocked. I have to ask you to take this to her since I don't trust Starfleet to relay a message for me, even though I know they won't do it. I know you'll read it, so stay with her when you pass it along. I'll owe you one, brother._  
 _Love you._  
 _Tom_

_-Jai,  
I hope you're sitting down for this one. If you aren't… get there. So, I went to a play last night with Martha and we saw a mutual _ friend _of ours in the production. He was a little older but we're both sure it was him. I tried getting through to you through Starfleet but the one person I got to talk to told me that I had to be family, like family's just blood. You need to tell them what's up and get your ass to Planet Q, ASAP. I'm sorry I don't have better news. Me and Martha will keep an eye out until you guys get here._  
_Love you._  
 _Tom_

"I think I'm gonna be sick," she whispered. The fact that Tom didn't name their _friend_ was telling. She knew he was talking about Kodos, even if she didn't want to believe it. That explained the ominous nightmare. Jamie looked at Kevin, "You okay?" She knew the question was pointless but she had to break the silence in the room.

He shook his head, "Nope… neither are you."

"Nope. Forward that to me. I'm gonna comm Barnett and see if they'll let us head over and check it out. If Tom and Martha recognized him, than there's a good chance that it's really him. I'll get Uhura to run the audio samples Tom sent with the message. Take the rest of the shift off, I'll handle Scotty," she told her friend.

Kev nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

"What's wrong?" was the first thing out of Hikaru's mouth when the away team materialized on the transporter pad.

Bones looked at her, "Jim, I'm sorry abo…"

"The whole world doesn't revolve around you, Doctor. Mister Sulu, we're headed to Planet Q, hit the bridge," she ordered.

Hikaru nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

"We were given an assignment to Planet Q, Captain?" Spock asked.

"Not exactly," she said.

Hiri took a breath, "This about your nightmare?"

"Riley got a message for me today from a _childhood_ friend of ours that… Tom saw _him_. Archer's letting us detour to be sure."

"Oh, shit," Bones muttered.

Hiri reached out to touch her arm but she stepped back. He sighed, "What do you need us to do?"

"Just get me there." Jamie walked out of the transporter room, she didn't realize that Bones was right behind her.

"You know, shutting us out, especially Sulu, isn't gonna work. That kid would walk through fire for you and you know it," her friend told her.

She glared at him, "Leave it alone. Please, just leave it alone." Jamie kept walking but he grabbed her arm, on instinct, she twisted his wrist and arm behind his back while and pinned him against the bulkhead, "I said 'leave it alone'."

"Captain!" Spock called, he and Hiri both looked at her. Jamie took a step away from Bones, letting him go. "Lieutenant, please escort to captain to her quarters," her first officer ordered Hiri.

She glared at the half-Vulcan, "I gave him an order."

Spock nodded, "And I have given him a counter order under Starfleet regulation six-one-nine. I will see to our departure, it is best that you collect yourself." She really should've expected it but she didn't like it.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with, Spock, but I'll play along… for now."

Jamie stepped into the turbolift with Hikaru. They didn't say anything during the whole ride or as they walked into her quarters. She kicked off her boots and went to change out of her uniform.

Hiri leaned against the wall, "Tell me the rest."

"The rest of what?" she asked without looking up.

He took a step closer to her, "The rest of what happened. I know you edited the story when you told me and since the records list you… or Jai Dawson as killed, I know those are wrong too. So tell me the rest."

"You don't want the rest. Trust me… I don't want to know the rest and I lived it," she whispered. He sat on the end of the bed as she pulled on a shirt.

"Jamie, there is nothing you can tell me that's gonna change how much I love you. I know what happened isn't pretty and I know you don't like talking about it, but that's why you should."

"I can't. I tried but… I can't go back there. It's not just what happened, it's everything that came after it. It's the feeling under my skin of being... I can't… I…" she said.

Hikaru sighed, "I know I'm not gonna like the answer to this question but I'm gonna ask it and you're gonna tell me the truth." Jamie looked at him and waited for the one question she never wanted to hear but knew it was coming. He took a breath, "What did Kodos do to you?"

"It wasn't just him," Jamie closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the look on his face right now. "We left Martha with the kids while me, Tom and Sam went out to find food. The Enforcers found us… that's how Sam died. They just… shot him. We managed to hide in a house long enough for him to bleed to death in my arms. Tom had just covered him up when we were grabbed. They took us back to Kodos. He kept us prisoner for five weeks, allowing his men to do what they wanted to us. Sometimes he watched, sometimes he touched and other times…"

Jamie felt Hikaru move and his arms wrapped around her. "It's okay," he whispered.

She shook her head, "It's not okay. He tortured and raped us… he was trying to break us. And in a way, he did. At first, I was sad. Then, I was just angry and I stayed that way until Pike showed up. Kodos shaped my life and even though I got away from him… Sometimes, I can feel him. The only solace I had was the fact that Starfleet thought they killed him. That's gone. I'm terrified that I'm gonna get to Tom and Kodos will be waiting for me. I was always his _favorite_."

"Does McCoy know?" Hiri asked.

"Only pieces of it. It's not like I go around talking about it. Chris knew and Tom… but he went through the same thing. That's what made it worse, they made one of us watch as they did things to the other, trying to make us tell them where the others were. I'm not strong enough to face him again."

"You are Jamie T. Kirk, Captain of the Federation flagship Enterprise. Your name pisses off Romulans and makes Klingon's blood boil. You save worlds and fight for people who can't fight for themselves. You shouldn't be scared of Kodos, he should be terrified of you. He had to resort to… to raping you and your friend for answers and you still didn't give him what he wanted. You have no idea how strong you'd have to be to do that and you did it. Right now, you keep thinking that you're alone but there are hundreds of people that would gladly kill him just to put you at ease. You aren't alone in this, babe. I'll slit his throat if it'll make you feel better, I'm sure I'm not the only one either."

"I feel like a weak, helpless child, Hiri," she said against his chest.

He held her tighter, "I know. But you're not weak. Not even close. You're the strongest person I know, Jamie. You literally came back from the dead, you got this. Even if you convinced yourself that you can't handle it, I got you."

* * *

A shootout, seriously? Jamie was just pissed off now. Kodos must've recognized Tom because he was dead by the time the Enterprise got there. Martha managed to show Jamie –plus Hiri and Bones because they refused to let her go alone- were Kodos was. Sure enough, it was the man himself. What's more, he knew she was there for him. That's when his men started shooting up the theater they were in.

Kodos, the coward, hid behind cover and let his men do the heavy lifting. The three Enterprise officers and Martha were picking off Kodos' men until Jamie saw an opening and went for it. She really should've known better. He spun on her and stabbed her in the side with a small dagger. "Hello, Miss Dawson… or should I say Kirk?"

His voice was just as she remembered it, gruff and dripping with undue authority. She pulled the blade out of her side, "Thaddeus."

The man who shaped her being and made her what she was sized her up. Kodos leered at her, "You have grown beautifully, my sweet girl."

Jamie glared at him, "This is the end, Thaddeus."

"Indeed it is."

She expected the lunge he made at her but not the strength behind it. It didn't make a damn bit of difference when he hit her in the stab wound. Jamie tried but she couldn't find her leverage, "What was on the blade?" She felt like she was sinking in quicksand.

Kodos chuckled, "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" The young captain used every ounce of strength she had to swing at him but it was no use. Kodos pinned her to the ground, "I'm gonna kill you, then sweet Martha and little Kevin."

Jamie saw Hikaru in her peripheral vision and gave him a weak smile, "No you won't."

"Who's gonna stop me?" Kodos challenged.

"He will," she said as Hiri stabbed Kodos through the back and out his chest.

The helmsman pulled his blade out of the older man and pushed him off from Jamie, "Get away from my girl." Hikaru pulled her up from the floor, "We're gonna have to have another talk about you doin' stuff alone. You okay?" She shook her head,

"He poisoned the dagger."

His hand went to her side and he looked over her shoulder, "Doc, she's hurt."

"Hiri… I…" she didn't have the words.

He smiled, "He tried to take your life, I've killed people for a lot less. Now, do what doc tells you or I'll kick your ass."

"You'd only win because I'm hurt," she chuckled. "I love you."

Her favorite pilot smiled, "Love you more."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Star Wars... but it would be AWESOME if I did.


	9. Chapter 9

"This is not funny, Bones," Jamie practically growled.

Her best friend snickered, "What was that, Lieutenant Sulu?"

Scotty and Chekov tried to hold their laughter in but they were failing at it. At least she could count on Spock not laughing at them. Jamie and Hikaru were currently under each other's skin, and not in that ridiculous fluffy way that couples are, they were literally in each other's skin. Like brains in each other's bodies. Damn transporter malfunctions.

"I am still the captain, it doesn't matter if we went all Freaky Friday," she stepped closer to her friend and almost tripped over her own –well, Hiri's- feet. "I feel like I'm on stilts, you're so fuckin' tall. As much as we love each other, we can't stay like this. So, gentlemen, figure out how to fix it… before I have to talk to the brass. I'm goin' to go do something that doesn't require moving."

"You are not gonna be lazy with my body," Hiri told her.

Jamie sighed, "I can barely walk in your body. All I want to do is get from here to my quarters without getting you all banged up."

There was another snicker from the peanut gallery and Bones looked at her, "Come on, Jim. It's just A Boy Girl Thing. You don't mind letting someone else be The Hot Chick, do you?"

She looked at him, "You do _not_ get to play the reference game today. Fix this."

* * *

 

"You okay?" Hikaru asked as he plopped –her body- down on the couch.

"It's weird. As close as we are, and we're very, very close, the idea of being in your body, in your world without you… I don't like it. I don't like having a conversation with myself, either."

He raised an eyebrow, "You don't think this is a little bit cool, babe?"

"No. There are many reasons why I love you, most of which have to do with your brain but there are some things… I mean, I like how I fit in your arms and the way you rest your chin on the top of my head when you hold me. I like how your hands feel on my skin, rough from all the flying and fencing and fighting. Or how safe I feel when you're close to me," she whispered.

"I suppose you have a valid point. It is weird, you being bigger than me. And I never figured out how you always managed to look taller than you are when you're talking to me or Spock and McCoy. Do we seem that tall to you all the time?" Hikaru asked.

Jamie nodded, "Yep. It's a mix of posture and confidence that makes me seem taller. I could try to explain it to you but it took two decades to master."

Hiri chuckled, "Well, at least it's us and not someone else. Could you imagine swapping with McCoy… or Spock?"

"Uhura,” Jamie smiled. “I could never pull off being that graceful. I have no idea how she does it."

"What I don't get is how either of you gets anything done in this uniform. I feel like I'm gonna flash your goods,” he said. Jamie usually wore the long-sleeve duty dress, so she understood exactly how he felt.

"That takes practice too. It's one of those things that we learn as young ladies. Close your legs when you sit. Bend at the knees and not the waist. I'm sure there's stuff that Yuki had to do growing up that you probably didn't notice. You want my help taking that off? It's not as easy as your uniform," Jamie said to Hiri.

"Please, I feel… exposed," he told her with a nudge. It took both of them to get Hikaru changed into workout gear. Taking that uniform dress off is a pain in the ass, especially when you aren't the one in your own body.

She sighed, "This is so wrong. It feels wrong. All I wanna do is crawl into your arms but those are my arms and it just won't feel right."

"You know Scotty, Spock and Pasha will fix this. I don't know how long it will take them but they'll fix it. Look on the bright side, Doc told us to stay in here while they figure it out. How about this, we kick our feet up and watch some movies?" Hiri asked.

Even though it was her face, she could see tiny bits of him peeking through. Jamie smiled, "No body swap movies. No twin swap movies either. You can pick anything you want beyond that."

He nodded, "Done and done."

 

They curled up on the couch and watched old kung-fu movies until Bones walked into her quarters a couple hours later. Jamie looked up at her best friend expecting him to make fun of them some more.

"We fixed it," the southerner said to the pair of body swapped command officers. Jamie and Hikaru glanced at each other before they followed an unusually quiet Bones out of the room.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked her best friend.

The doctor sighed, "Nothing. I'm sorry I was being a jerk earlier."

Jamie looked at him, "No harm, no foul. There's something else."

"Chekov might've cursed me out,” Bones sighed. “He told me that what you're going through is kinda like being trapped in a mirror, you can see yourself but you aren't yourself. He also reminded me that you'd do anything you could if something like this happened to me."

"Maybe next time it could be you and Spock," Hiri joked as they walked into the transporter room.

Scotty chuckled, "I would pay credits to see that."

Jamie nodded, "You and me both. So, where do you want us?" Scotty told Hikaru were to stand and then did the same for Jamie. She glanced at the space ninja in her body, "See you on the flip side."

"Here's hoping," Hiri smiled.

Scotty gave them a three count before he hit the commands, beaming them out and back in again. Jamie stood with her eyes closed for a few minutes before blinking them open and looking down at her hands. Her hands! "We're back!" she said as she looked up at Hiri.

He chuckled and pulled her into a hug, "Let's never do that again."

"You guys should let me check you over, just in case," Bones told them.

Jamie nodded, "Yea, yea."

* * *

 

"Well, that's not good," Jamie said as she handed the PADD to her first officer. Negotiations between the Federation and the Klingon Empire are on the verge of collapse. The Enterprise was ordered to Organia to prevent the Klingons from using it as a base of operations.

"Mister Sulu, lay in a course for Organia, maximum warp," she ordered. Her favorite pilot acknowledged the order and had them shooting off in the right direction in less than a minute.

Spock stood next to her chair, "Captain, Organia is a peaceful, Class M planet in the disputed area near the border."

She sighed, "It's always the peaceful ones that get run over by bullies. Orders are…" The whole ship shook as they were fired upon by a Klingon vessel. "Sulu," Jamie didn't even have to tell him what to do. His hands flew over the console as he returned fire.

The Enterprise was hit a few more times before Hiri glanced at her, "He's done."

Chekov nodded, "Ve are picking up nothing but debris, Keptin."

Jamie looked at her first officer, "Damage report."

"Minor, Captain. Medical is reporting sixteen injured, no deaths," the half-Vulcan told her.

"Captain, I'm receiving a Code One alert from Starfleet," Uhura said from the communications console. The young captain took a deep breath. A Code One that meant they were now at war with the Klingons.

"Mister Sulu, we need to get to Organia before the hammer falls."

* * *

 

"We have reached Organia, Captain," Spock alerted her.

Jamie sighed as she looked out the viewscreen, "It's beautiful. Here's hoping it stays that way. Commander, you're with me. Lieutenant Sulu, you have the con. Your responsibility is to the Enterprise, not me and Spock. If something happens…"

"We'll handle it," he said.

She shook her head, "No, you'll evaluate. If the Klingon fleet shows up, get the hell outta here. Fall back and notify Starfleet. Do not engage them by yourself unless you have no other options. Spock and I will be fine."

Hiri nodded, "Understood, Captain."

Her eyes locked with his, "I'm not the captain, you are." She realized as she stepped into the turbolift with Spock that she used the same words Pike did when he left Spock in command. An ominous feeling came over her, "I don't like this."

"He is a good officer, Jim. He will be fine," Spock told her.

Jamie nodded, "I know."

* * *

 

So, the Organians don't want their help. Not only did the Organians not want their help, Jamie and Spock found that the people seemed curiously unconcerned about the two officers who materializing within their midst out of nowhere. They were welcomed to the planet by a man who called himself Ayelborne. As Chairman of the Council of Elders, he was the closest thing to an authority the Organians had, he took Jamie to the Council Chambers while Spock looked around and took some scans.

She tried to explain what it would mean to let when the Klingons showed up but the brushed her off. The young captain couldn't figure out if they were being really brave or really stupid. The councilors told her that they have no need of protection nor defenses and they don't believe the Klingon invasion poses any threat to their people or their culture.

Of course, that's when the Klingon fleet showed up. Jamie ordered Hikaru to follow her last orders and closed the comm before he could argue with her. She turned her attention back to the council, "Gentlemen, you kept insisting that there was no danger…"

Ayelborne nodded, "That is correct, Captain. There is no danger."

The man next to him looked at the Chairman, "Ayelborne, eight space vehicles have assumed orbit around our planet. They are activating their material transmission units."

"Thank you, Trefayne," Ayelborne said to the man.

Jamie looked at Spock, "Can you verify that?"

He adjusted the settings on his tricorder, "Negative, Captain, but it seems a logical development."

Ayelborne looked at the Starfleet officers, "Captain, since it is too late for you to escape, perhaps we should do something about protecting you."

"If you had listened to me…" she started.

The man on Ayelborne's other side, Claymare cut her off, "We must be sure you are not harmed."

Trefayne nodded, "Ayelborne, several hundred men have appeared near the citadel. They bring many weapons." What the hell?

Jamie took a breath, "How does he know that?"

"Oh, our friend Trefayne is really quite intuitive. You can rest assured that what he says is absolutely correct," Ayelborne told her. Jamie wasn't convinced.

She looked at her Vulcan friend, "So, we're stranded here, in the middle of a Klingon occupation army.”

"So it would seem,” Spock nodded. “Not a very pleasant prospect."

Jamie chuckled, "You have a gift for understatement, Mister Spock. It's not a very pleasant prospect at all.” She looked at Ayelborne. “How do you plan to keep us safe?"

* * *

 

"Hiri would get a kick outta this. I mean, we look like we belong in a medieval or renaissance fair," Jamie muttered with a mental note to add that to their list of things to do when they got home.

Spock looked at her, "I believe Nyota would appreciate our attire as well." The natives gave them clothing to help them blend in, but took their weapons.

Jamie watched as the Klingons walked into the chamber. Their leader stepped forward, "This is the ruling council?"

The Chairman nodded, "I am Ayelborne, temporary head of the council. I bid you welcome."

The Klingon looked at Ayelborne, "No doubt you do. I am Kor, military governor of Organia."

The solider looked at her, "Who are you?"

Jamie held her head high, "Barona, one of the leading citizens of Organia. Welcome."

Kor stepped closer to her, "Where is your smile, Barona?"

"My what?" she asked.

Kor motioned to the Organian Council, "The stupid, idiotic smile everyone else seems to be wearing."

"Do I look stupid or idiotic, Kor?" Jamie asked.

He chuckled and glanced over her shoulder, "A Vulcan. Do you have a tongue?"

"I am Spock, a dealer in kevas and trillium," her first officer said.

One of Kor's men looked at him, "You do not look like a storekeeper."

"Take him. Vulcans are members of the Federation. He may be a spy," Kor ordered.

"He's no spy," Jamie offered.

Kor chuckled, "It appears that we have a ram among the sheep? And the woman, no less. Do you object to us taking him?"

She glanced at her friend, "He's done nothing."

Kor actually smiled at her, "Coming from an Organian, yours is practically an act of rebellion. Very good." He brushed a hand along her jaw, "I am fond of forceful women." Jamie didn't bother being upset at the gesture, it could be a lot worse.

Kor looked at the Council, "So you welcome me." He looked at Jamie, "Do you also welcome me?"

She tempered her attitude, "You're here. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Good honest hatred,” Kor chuckled. “Very refreshing. However, it makes no difference whether you welcome me or not. You are now subjects of the Klingon Empire. You'll find there are many rules and regulations. They will be posted. Violation of the smallest of them will be punished by death."

"We shall obey your regulations, Commander," Ayelborne told the Klingon.

Kor seemed more interested in her, "You disapprove, Barona?"

"You need my approval?" Jamie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I need your obedience,” Kor told her. “Nothing more. Will I have it?" She wanted to tell him to fuck off but she wasn't about to risk people's lives if it pissed him off.

"You appear to be in command, Kor."

"Yes. I am. I shall need a representative from among you. Liaison between the forces of the occupation and the civil population. Barona, you shall be my liaison." She could see why he picked her, the council was grinning like idiots.

Jamie looked at him, "Me? I don't want the job."

"I am not asking. Klingons have a reputation for ruthlessness. You will find that it is deserved. Should one Klingon soldier be killed, a thousand Organians will die. I will have order. Is that clear?" Kor asked everyone in the room.

Ayelborne nodded, "Commander, I assure you our people want nothing but peace. We shall cause you no trouble."

"I'm sure of it. Take the Vulcan to the examination room. Barona, I will familiarize you with your new duties," Kor ordered.

"And Mister Spock?" she asked.

Kor looked at her, "You are concerned?"

Jamie nodded, "He is my friend."

"You have a poor choice of friends,” Kor told her. “He will be examined. If he is lying, he will die. If he is telling the truth, he will find that business has taken a turn for the worse. You have a backbone. I may be able to deal with you, Barona. Come with me."

* * *

 

"What did they do to you?" Jamie asked Spock as she took his arm and they walked through the square.

He looked at her, "They have a device, a mind-sifter that they employed. Fortunately, my mental shields were able to withstand it. We must do something, Jim."

"No shit. You should've seen the list of regulations that Kor gave me," she told him. No public assemblies of more than three people. All publications to be cleared through his office. Neighborhood controls will be established and hostages selected. A long ass list of crimes against the state. Of course, it was her job to keep the people in order or she'll be killed. Jamie sighed, "We still have a job to do."

"We'll receive no help from the Organians," Spock reminded her.

Jamie shook her head, "Maybe, but sooner or later they'll start resenting how the Klingons run things. If we could prove to them they could do something to strike back, to keep the Klingons off balance. Did I or did I not see something that looked like a munitions dump outside of Kor's headquarters?"

"You did," he answered.

"I think it's time we did some communicating. Tonight," she smiled.

Spock nodded, "A very welcome idea, Jim."

"We're short on tools."

"I am certain the Klingons will provide whatever is necessary,” he told her. “Are we about to have what Doctor McCoy calls 'one of those crazy Jim and Sulu moments'?"

Jamie nodded, "Yep. It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mister Spock." The pair split up, there was nothing they could do while it was still light out.

* * *

 

"Excuse me, sir," Jamie said to the Klingon guarding the ammo dump. She had tugged the top of her dress down a tiny bit and took deep breaths, drawing attention to her chest. The second the solider took the bait, she dropped him. Spock ran past her and she pulled the Klingon from the middle of the path. She settled him next to a building before she followed her first officer.

"Sonic grenade? Oh, Spock, you shouldn't have," she told him. If he was the type to laugh, he would've.

"It has a delayed action fuse. And these crates contain chemical explosives. They should make a most satisfactory display." Spock casually dropped the grenade into a box and the pair took off to find cover. The scientist counted them down and pulled her into his arms to shield her from harm when the explosion went off. And what an explosion it was.

"Not bad, Mister Spock."

* * *

 

She was gonna strangle Ayelborne. The Organians were appalled by the violence, which she could understand, but that was no reason to out her to Kor. He had the Council Chamber under surveillance and heard the conversation between Jamie, Spock and the Council about the bombing. Ayelborne, learning Kor's plan to interrogate Jaime with the mind-sifter, revealed her identity.

"There's no need to use your machine on her, commander. She is Captain Jamie T. Kirk," Ayelborne told the Klingon. Jamie glared daggers at him.

Kor smiled, "Captain of the USS Enterprise. A starship commander. And her first officer? I had hoped to meet you in battle, but…"

Ayelborne cut him off, "For some reason, she feels that she must destroy you, Commander, just as you feel you must destroy her."

"That's going to be rather difficult now. Isn't it, Captain? What an admirable people. Do you always betray your friends?" Kor asked the Organian.

Ayelborne looked at Kor, "I didn't want you to harm her. I'm sorry, Captain. It was for the best. No harm would come of it."

"The idea of dying doesn't bother me,” she said. “I just have no desire to die for you."

Kor nodded, "I don't blame you, Captain. Lock up the Vulcan. Take the Captain to my office. We'll have a talk before I do what must be done."

One of the Klingons grabbed her arm and pulled her from the chamber. Hiri, Bones and the crew was safe, if she was gonna die, she was gonna take comfort in that fact.

"Have a drink with me, Kirk," Kor said as he entered the room behind her.

"Might as well," she accepted. Jamie doubted that the Klingon warrior would drug her. One, it wasn’t their style. Two, they had that mind-sifter thing so drugs would be pointless. Jamie took a sip from the glass offered to her. The dark amber liquid was bitter but not unpleasant. "Whatever you want from me, the answer is no.”

Kor sighed, "You and I are not so different, Captain. I must confess to a certain admiration for you. The young commander thrust into battle. I know that it was you who destroyed our supplies last night. We are similar as a species. Here we are on a planet of sheep. Two tigers, predators, hunters, killers, and it is precisely that which makes us great."

"I'm assuming you have a point," Jamie told him.

Kor smiled at her, "So, it shall be a matter of testing each other's wills. Of power. Survival must be earned, Captain. Tell me about the dispersal of your Starfleet."

She chuckled, "That'll never happen."

"I can get what I want through our mind-sifter but there would be very little of your mind left, Captain. I have no desire to see you become a vegetable. That friend of yours, the Vulcan, he seems to have the ability to block our scanner. Perhaps I will find out why. I will have him dissected. Your friend killed. You, a mental vegetable. Not a pleasant prospect, Captain, but it lies ahead for you unless you tell me everything I want to know. Twelve hours," Kor told her.

"You might as well kill me, I'm not telling you anything," Jamie smiled sweetly.

"We shall see. I respect you, Captain Kirk, but this is war, a game we Klingons play to win.” He looked at the guard, “Take her to the cell with her friend. And watch them closely." The guard in the room grabbed her arm again and pulled her out of the office.

* * *

 

"This is usually when the Enterprise pulls off a miracle. How much time we got?" she asked.

Spock looked at her, "Six hours and forty-six minutes." The pair was trying to figure out their best option when the door to their cell opened and Ayelborne stepped inside, offering them safe passage back to the Council chambers, where he assured them the Klingons will not come.

Jamie didn't like it but it was the only card they had to play. Of course, when Kor found out, he rounded up two hundred Organians to be killed. And he would keep killing them until Jamie and Spock turned themselves in. Still, the Organian Council refused to act.

"I'm not gonna let anyone else die because of me. If you aren't gonna do something, that's fine but I can't stay here while he slaughters your people," she told the men. Spock found their weapons and the two Starfleet officers made break for Kor's stronghold.

* * *

 

"Well, Commander, I guess that takes care of the war. Obviously the Organians aren't going to let us fight," Jamie said to Kor.

He smiled, "A shame, Captain. It would have been glorious."

“On that, we can agree,” she chuckled.

So, the Organians were playing them the whole time. They had evolved into advanced and powerful energy beings, and the outward appearance of Organia was solely to provide points of reference for visitors. The natives made everyone's weapons too hot to handle, and the same was the case on every ship in both fleets. It was Ayelborne and Claymare, intervening to stop the violence. Immobilized, both sides agreed to stop fighting and went back to their respective corners.

Jamie sighed as she stepped into her quarters. Of course, Hikaru was already there, "You look rather fetching, my fair lady."

"Why thank you, kind sir. You wanna help me take this off?" He nodded and stood up from the couch, his hand gliding over the fabric at her hip. She could see the wheels turning in his head.

Hiri tangled his hand in her hair and pulled her into a kiss, he used his other hand to pull her tight against his chest. She doesn't know how long they stood there, and she didn't really care. Kissing Hiri was like coming up for air after being close to drowning, she needed it like she needed oxygen. Jamie let out a whimper when he pulled away. Her boyfriend chuckled at her reaction to him.

"I thought we might've lost you a few times."

"I thought I was done once or twice down there, if I'm being honest. But I'm here, we're okay and somehow, we're not at war," Jamie told him.

Hiri chuckled, "I can live with that. Come on. We're gonna get you out of this, then we're gonna take a shower and pass the hell out. It's been a long two days and I just wanna cuddle with my girl."

"Like I'd pass that up."


	10. Chapter 10

"Do we know what ship we'll be up against?" Hikaru asked her. They were ordered to participate in a war game. It had two purposes, testing combat readiness and command training.

Jamie chuckled, "I know plenty. _You_ will be going up against the Enterprise and the La Forge."

He raised an eyebrow, "What?" The other officers at the table looked between the two of them.

"You will be in command of the USS Mayweather and Spock will be in command of the USS La Forge. You both get to pick your first officers. Your ships will be here in six hours," she smiled.

"You're serious. Jim…" Bones started.

Jamie held up a hand, "I didn't have anything to do with it. The orders came down from the brass when I got the assignment. Sulu being in command of a ship has nothing to do with me, Spock does his evals. You gotta give me some credit, Bonesy."

"I want Uhura and Riley," Hikaru interjected. Jamie looked at the communications officer. Nyota had a good bit of command knowledge and, if she was ever inclined, she could take the bridge exam to stand watch as the duty officer. Kevin was both an amazing engineer and a pretty good navigator.

Jamie nodded, "Done and done. Spock?"

"Doctor McCoy," the half-Vulcan said. Everyone at the table looked at Bones.

The southerner looked at Spock, "Dammit man, I'm a doctor, not a…" They all waited as Bones sighed, "I'm a Starfleet officer. I fucking hate you all." Jamie chuckled at her friend.

"Random question. If we all leave, who's gonna stop Jamie, Scotty and Pavel from doing every crazy thing the book?" Uhura asked. The three officers in question looked at each other with grins on their faces.

"Ye worry about your ship, we'll worry about ours, lass," Scotty told her.

Jamie chuckled, "This is gonna be fun."

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Hiri asked her as he packed a small bag. The simulation was supposed to take course over a few days.

She smiled, "The hardest part will be trying to sleep without you… Or Bones to sedate me."

"You know what I mean. Are you okay with me in command of a ship?" he asked.

Jamie chuckled, "We've had this conversation. You're an amazing officer and I'm proud of you. I'm still gonna kick your ass, though."

Hikaru wrapped an arm around her waist, "I love you, gorgeous, but I'm gonna win." He closed the small gap between their lips and kissed her. Jamie wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. When Hiri's communicator went off, he reluctantly pulled away from her and answered it.

"My ship is here. I guess it's go time."

Jamie smiled, "Indeed it is, Captain Sulu." She gave him a quick kiss before he grabbed his bag. The others were in the transporter room when they got there.

"I don't like this," Bones grumbled.

Jamie smiled, "Because you're gonna be under Spock's command or because he's taking you away from me?"

Her best friend sighed, "I never even thought about it that way. I can't be that important."

"Except you are," she told him. "Have fun and don't be a complete ass to Spock. He really does respect you, Bones."

He nodded, "Yea, yea."

* * *

"Keptin, there is a veapons lock on us," Chekov warned her. The whole ship shuddered when they were fired upon.

Jamie looked at the young officer, "Where did that come from?"

Hannity answered from behind her, "Ma'am, we have Romulan signatures de-cloaking."

Jamie nodded, "Hawkins, get me a status on the Mayweather and La Forge. McKenna, take us out of safe mode and prepare to fire phasers."

She should've known that they couldn't do something as simple as a training simulation without it going sideways, at least they were on the third day. In all fairness, the Romulans shouldn't be here but she wasn't gonna think about it too much. Her main priority was her crew, all of her crew. Jamie ordered her officers to return fire when the Romulans shot at them. The whole ship shuttered again and powered down.

"What the hell was that?" Jamie asked.

Chekov looked at her, "A high energy pulse device. Similar to the one on the Narada. Ve're dead in space."

She nodded, "Can we hail the other ships?"

Hawkins nodded, "I can try, ma'am."

After a minute, some of the power came back and the Mayweather came on screen. To her surprise, Hikaru and Uhura were cracking up.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked.

Hiri sighed, "You mean because of the Romulans?" She nodded. Sulu smirked, "What Romulans?"

Hannity ran another scan, "I don't understand. Nothing on sensors, Captain."

Jamie looked at her boyfriend, "But we got hit with… Oh my God. That was you? How'd you do that?"

"We know how the Enterprise's computers and sensors work. The shots were real but not harmful, everything else was added by the computers. I told you I was gonna win. We took out Spock first, he's pissed. You should see his ears… bright green," he told her with a shrug.

Jamie looked at Chekov, "He tricked us."

The Russian nodded, "I vould appear so, Keptin." The kid looked as stunned as she felt. She couldn't even be mad at them, it was clever as hell.

Jamie smiled, "Well played, Captain Sulu."

* * *

"Where are you, babe?" Hiri called.

Jamie sighed, "In here." She took a deep breath and waited for him to step into the bedroom area.

"Hey, so… Whoa," Hikaru said. The look on his face was priceless.

She kept the most impassive expression as possible, "What was that, pet?"

"You look like Cara… How did you…? Where did you…? Oh dear God," he said before he bit down on his finger and gave her a look of pure unadulterated lust.

Hikaru had a thing for this book series called The Sword of Truth, more particularly, a character named Cara. In the books, there are these warrior women called Mord'Sith who usually wear these tight leather outfits in red, white or brown. Cara was a Mord'Sith who appeared in twelve of the fourteen books. She's described as a sharp witted blonde with piercing blue eyes and one of the most beautiful women you could ever see. Hiri says Jamie and Cara are similar in looks and skills, both broken to the point of excellence. And both unapologetic in their duties and loyalties. Jamie was sitting on the edge of her bed in tight red leather, her long blonde hair pulled back in a braid and all the trappings of one such warrior.

"I had some help from Gaila putting the whole thing together. I take it that you approve," she said as she stood.

Hikaru nodded, "I… I… I… I more than approve. Did you get a white one for when you break me?"

Jamie smiled, "I didn't think of that. I went with red because it's your favorite color. Wanna take a closer look, or are you planning to just stand over there?"

He slowly made his way across the room, "Permission to touch my mistress?"

"Granted," she said. Jamie felt like her skin was on fire as his fingers ghosted over the little details of the outfit.

"Is this your Halloween costume? Because, I gotta tell you, I'll have to slaughter anyone who looks at you," he whispered. They were so close that she could hear every word.

"No. This is for your eyes only," she told him.

Hikaru smirked, "Just for me, huh?"

"You're always doing stuff for me. I wanted to do something for you." He nodded before he pulled her against his body and kissed her, hard. Jamie was actually caught a little off guard by it. She was also insanely turned on. Hikaru can be aggressive if he really wants to be but he's never really aggressive with her… until now.

He broke the kiss and stared at her, his brown eyes darkened, "Please tell me there's a quick way to get you out of that?"

"I'm not entirely sure, babe," Jamie shrugged. "You're more than welcome to figure it out."

The next kiss wasn't as rough but just as passionate, Hikaru's hands undoing the buckles and zippers of her outfit as he kissed her. Even in his rush to get it off, he was still careful not to break any of it.

When her arms were free of the leather bodysuit, she pulled his uniform shirts over his head and moved to his pants. She has no idea when he kicked his boots off but they were gone by the time he stepped out of his pants and gently pushed her onto the bed. He tugged both her boots off before he pulled the leather bodysuit the rest of the way off her body.

"God, you really are trying to kill me," he groaned.

Jamie chuckled, "Why do you think that?"

Hiri smiled, "That bra is all sexy and lacey and I've never seen it before. I can't decide if I want to take it off of you or not." Jamie opened her mouth to say something but the words got stuck in her throat at the look on his face. He crawled onto the bed near her feet and slowly kissed his way up her body, his hands skimming the outside of her legs and stopped at her little black underwear.

"Yellow alert. All hands yellow alert," came Hawkins' over the ship's intercom.

Hiri chuckled, "I swear to all that's holy that it better be good. Cockblocked by an alert." Jamie hopped up and grabbed a clean uniform, "We'll finish this later, pet."

He kissed her neck, "Yes, mistress."

* * *

"What's going on?" Jamie asked as she and Hikaru stepped on to the bridge.

Spock stood from her chair, "We are being pulled into Questar M-17, Captain."

She nodded, "Full reverse thrust."

Sulu shook his head, "Helm's not responding to my commands due to hyper-gravity. We're two minutes off course, drifting to the right, Captain."

"Forward scanners on the star on the main viewscreen," Jamie ordered. Well, it was pretty, even if it was trying to suck them in. "Sulu, flank it. Speed ahead to make orbit around it, using it's pull to our advantage." He nodded and his hands worked as he followed her order. They spotted a huge, pod ship of unknown alien origin.

"It's emitting a radio signal, ma'am," Uhura told her. Jamie didn't bother to order Uhura to translate it, the other woman was already on it.

"Put us alongside her, Sulu. Spock, scans?"

Her first officer turned in his seat, "Readings indicate a temperature of absolute zero. There is no energy in the ship to support life or send the radio messages. The only thing our sensors have detected is a magnetic reading. However, that could be normal for the metal used in the ship's construction."

"Is there any way to identify the metal or the design?" she asked him.

Spock shook his head, "No, Captain, there is not. Both aspects of the craft are unidentified. The ship has been in the same orbit for over three hundred million years."

Jamie nodded, "Alright, field trip time. Mister Spock, you're with me. Uhura, have Bones and Scotty meet us in transporter room two. Mister Sulu, you have the conn."

* * *

"This is a huge ship," Bones muttered. Jamie nodded as they made their way through the large vessel. The ship appeared to have been built by an insectoid race; hexagonal windows aboard the vessel that look precisely like the individual cells in honeycombs of bees. However, the craft's metal, rather than having been cast or rolled, has remarkably been drawn into filaments and spun.

"This race might be spider-like. The metal reminds me of spider webs," Jamie whispered.

Spock nodded, "Captain, the metal is also lighter and stronger than any material currently available to the Federation according to my tricorder."

Bones nudged her, "What do you make of all the open pods, Jim. An accident?" They were all burst open from the inside, it looked like.

Spock answered before she could, "The systematic nature of the breakage suggests that the vessel's crew broke the pods themselves and essentially destroyed the craft."

Jamie nodded, "We just gotta figure out why, so we can get out of here."

Jamie commed over the ship and Uhura notified her that she is no longer receiving the radio signal from the alien ship, the transmission stopped when the away team beamed aboard, she was still working on a translation. Jamie ordered that the Enterprise keep a transporter lock on them.

"Captain," Spock called to her. She cut the communication with the ship and looked at him.

"Yea, Spock?"

He was looking at his tricorder, "I am receiving a slight energy reading. It seems that the ship is receiving the energy being generated by us. The energy is being stored."

Scotty nodded, "From my readings, it appears that the whole ship is designed to receive and store energy."

"Okay. Let's get to the bridge, or control room… whatever," Jamie said.

When the away team found the ship's control center, the doors sealed behind them and an interference field killed the comms and phasers. They all looked around and found that the source of the field was a device attached to the navigational console.

"It is not part of the normal equipment, Captain. It appears to be something jury-rigged during an emergency. The field's purpose seems to be to shield the control center from an intruder," Spock told her.

That was only confirmed when Jamie found a log entry in a bunch of languages, fortunately, she spoke two of them. " _Danger! Danger! The dead star... we are being drawn to it! Rather than carry this malevolent life form to other worlds, we have decided to destroy our own ship! There is no other answer! If you understand this message, you are protected only for this moment in this room! This thing, it wants..._ " the insectoid captain warned before the entry cut off.

That's when the banging against the door started. Bones groaned, "That's why I like to stay on the damn ship."

Jamie chuckled despite the situation, "Oh, come on, Bonesy. This is fun."

He rolled his eyes, "Only you would say some stupid shit like that." Whatever was on the other side of the door broke through and set off a chain reaction of explosions. Luckily, the interference was gone and they were being beamed out.

* * *

"Let him go," Jamie said, the tear running down her cheek betraying her steely tone. After materializing in the transporter room, the away team discovered that the entity the logs warned them about had beamed aboard with them. It took over control of the ship's systems, using the Enterprise's phasers to destroy the insectoid craft.

The entity wants to use the Enterprise to take it away from the dead star. But Spock has placed the navigation console inside a static shield, so the entity cannot steer the ship. However, the entity has taken the crew hostage. Scotty was almost killed in engineering and now the damn thing was electrocuting Hikaru.

"Stop, you'll kill him," she pleaded.

"Remove the shield from the warp drive controls! Do it now!" the nearly invisible entity ordered.

Hiri's eyes locked with hers, "Don't… Jamie."

She already made her decision, "Okay. I'll do it. I'll obey, just let him go." The entity released Hikaru and he dropped to his knees. Jamie was all kinds of pissed off now.

In her head, she was formulating a plan to get rid of this thing. The creature spoke to them, "You will leave this orbit and plot course to galactic co-ordinates zero-three-six-point-two-three-one!"

Spock looked at her, "That is the heart of the galaxy, Captain!" She nodded and plotted a course into the helm, her left hand resting on Hiri's shoulder as he leaned against the chair. He was gonna need Bones, sooner rather than later. "Captain, this symbiote can reproduce itself by mitosis and take over every starship we encounter. It can control computer systems...whole planets."

"Well aware of that, Mister Spock," she said.

The entity had to butt in, "Complete repairs! Obey me!" She just rolled her eyes, this thing was about to get a rude awakening.

Jamie acted as if she was obeying the entity but her plan was to use the slingshot effect and break the Enterprise out of orbit. The trick was making it look like she was gonna crash into the star. It wasn't gonna be pretty but it should work.

After a minute, the entity yelled, "No! Accelerate! Do not destroy the ship! Obey! Obey! OBEY!"

"Obedience has never been my strong suit. Get the fuck off my ship," she growled. She hit the commands and flung the ship at the star, using it's gravitational pull to deflect them. The entity fled for it's life thinking that Jamie was about to kill them all.

Hiri looked up at her, "Is it gone?"

Spock nodded, "Affirmative. It fled the ship when it thought we would crash into the dead star. Impressive, Captain."

"I have my moments. You have the conn, Mister Spock. I'm gonna take Sulu to medical," she said as she helped Hiri up and pulled his arm over her shoulders.

"You know, McCoy is gonna flip at us," Hikaru said.

She chuckled, "If he didn't I'd be worried."

* * *

"You could always make me feel better," Hiri said to her.

Jamie sighed, "I would but Bones would probably kill me. He said that thing fucked with your heart and banned you from all strenuous activity… including sex. I had to promise before he let you out of sickbay. It's my fault you got hurt, anyway. I'm sorry I wasn't faster, Hiri." He tugged on her arm, for a moment, she gave him a bit of resistance. Hikaru raised an eyebrow and pulled her arm again, this time, she let him pull her onto the bed.

"This was not your fault. We got sucked in by that damn thing. You got us away. Watching you at the helm is hot, by the way. If it wasn't me, it would've been Spock or someone else. You did the right thing, babe," he told her.

Jamie nodded against his shoulder, "I know, but…"

He shook his head, "No buts. Now, since I'm laid up and I'm not allowed to do many of my favorite things, how about we cuddle and watch a movie?"

"I'm down for cuddling. I'll even put on the Mord'Sith costume again when Bones gives you the all clear," Jamie said with a smile.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about that long break, I got horrible writer's block on this story. The epilogue is the only chapter left.

"What are you doing?" Hiri asked with a chuckle.

"Nothing," Jamie sighed. She pressed another kiss against the back of his neck. He was in the arboretum working on one of his many botany projects. Jamie was content to just stand there with her hands holding onto the side of his uniform and her head resting between his shoulder blades.

"You okay? McCoy said you got your brain rattled down there," Hikaru said after a few minutes.

She scoffed, "So that's what he calls being tortured."

The Enterprise was on a routine cargo drop to the Tantalus Penal Colony when they managed to get pulled into some craziness. One of the doctors from the colony, Simon Van Gelder, stowed away on the ship demanding asylum. They learn that Van Gelder was a former associate of Tantalus administrator Doctor Tristan Adams, assigned to the colony only six months prior.

Bones pulled his medical authority to launch an investigation into why Van Gelder was injured and mentally unstable while Jamie took one of the psychiatrists from Bones' staff, Doctor Helen Noel, down to the colony. They met with Adams, who told them that Van Gelder injured his mind by testing an experimental therapy device on himself, the neural neutralizer.

Jamie and Helen figured out that it was Adams using the device on people, including Van Gelder, when the man used it on Jamie in an effort to mentally condition her. Fighting off the suggestions put in her head by Adams, Jamie called Helen through the air conditioning ducts, in the hope that the other woman could find the power controls and deactivate the security force field that protects the facility and prevents transporters from operating in it.

Helen took care of the guard and deactivated the field long enough for Jamie to escape the torture and for Spock, with a security team, to beam down and secure the colony. Sadly, Doctor Adams died of exposure to the neural neutralizer when they turned the power to the facility back on. Doctor Van Gelder was cured and resumed his responsibilities at the colony. His first act was dismantling and destroying the neural neutralizer equipment.

"You want to talk about it?" Hiri asked.

Jamie chuckled, "Not really but I guess I probably should. My head feels like it's all over the place with thoughts that don't belong to me. Man, was it painful. I'll sort it out eventually."

"That's Jamie code for 'I'll ignore it until it eats me alive.' You can tell me," her favorite pilot said.

"The people down there were like mindless zombies. The fact that he almost did that to me scared the crap out of me. All I've ever had was my brain and my instincts. The idea of being stripped of what makes me me is… I don't have the words. It was worse than getting wammied, this time I knew what was happening to me and I couldn't stop it," she told him.

"' _Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible, to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind'…_ " Hiri said.

Jamie chuckled, "A Macbeth soliloquy, that's appropriate. I do love it when you quote Shakespeare."

"I'm glad Adams didn't take that from you because I love quoting Shakespeare for you. I guess it's a good thing you have such a hard head," he quipped.

"Bones beat you to that one, babe," she said as she rolled her eyes.

Hikaru smiled, "You know what they say about great minds. Something was bothering you before all this happened. You wanna tell me what's up?"

"I suppose I could," she told him. Sometimes, she really hates that he can read her so easily.

Jamie explained that his execution of the war game got the brass' attention. With the shortage of leaders thanks to Nero, Marcus and Khan, exceptional command officers stick out like sore thumbs. And because of the close eye that the Federation had on her, Hikaru stuck out even more. She was notified that she might need to start training a new Alpha shift helmsmen to take over for Hikaru because he was being vetted for the first officer position on the USS Courageous under the command of Captain Michael Caulder, among a few other positions on various ships.

"They want me to be the first officer… on a Miranda-class cruiser?" he asked in amazement.

"Don't sound so surprised, Hikaru. I told you it would happen," Jamie said. The pilot turned around so that he was looking at her and searched her face, for what, she wasn't sure.

"What do you think?" he finally asked.

She sighed, "As your commanding officer or as your girlfriend?"

"Both," Hiri answered.

"As your CO, I have no doubt that, should you be selected as the Courageous' first officer, you will show the same dedication and attention to detail there that you do here on the Enterprise. Replacing you the helm is gonna be a bitch though." Jamie smiled, "As your girlfriend, I'm very proud of you and I think it fuckin' rocks. I might not like the idea of us being on separate ships but we always knew it was a possibility since we're both so awesome. Sleeping without you will take some getting used to but you know what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder. It hasn't been decided but the chances are good. You're not supposed to know yet, so act surprised when the official word comes down."

"You really think I'll get it?" Hikaru asked.

She nodded, "I know I'm a little bias but they'd be crazy not to give it to you."

"Well, that sounds like a reason to celebrate," he told her.

"What do you have in mind?" Jamie asked.

Hiri thought for a second, "We need a date."

"We're on a ship in the middle of uncharted space," she reminded him.

He chuckled, "Are we? I think we're in a garden. And I think it's the perfect place to dance."

"You know good and damn well that I'm a horrible dancer. Dancing with me is dangerous," she told him.

Hikaru nodded, "Yes. But I also know that you do well in my arms. I'm dancing and so are you."

* * *

"Don't you dare laugh at me," Jamie told her best friend. She was standing in the decon chamber covered in pink slime. Actually, covered was a nice way of putting it, the stuff was seeping through her uniform.

Hikaru smiled from the other side of the transparent polymer, "You aren't gonna try to kill us are you, Vido?"

"First, Winston is the one who got pulled into the flowing river of slime and Ray and Egon jumped in after him. Two, there aren't any babies on the ship for me to possess until it's time for me to take over the world, so I think you're okay, Venkman," Jim said.

"I always knew Venkman and Vido had eyes for each other," Hiri chuckled. Jamie laughed at the look on Bones' face.

"What the hell are you two talkin' about?" her grumpy best friend asked as she peeled off her clothes in the tiny room.

"Ghostbusters Two," the pair of command officers answered at the same time.

"Never saw it," Bones told them.

Jamie groaned, "Seriously? That's like a crime against humanity."

"You're killing me, man," Hikaru sighed. "Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver. It's a classic. As soon as you let her out of there, we're gonna have a movie night. Never saw Ghostbusters Two… That's just crazy."

"How old is the movie?" the doctor asked.

Jamie sighed, "Little over three hundred and fifty years old. It's still a good movie. Wouldn't still be relevant if it wasn't."

"That so?" her best friend asked.

"Yep. It's about a group of parapsychologists and their organization which combats paranormal activities. But that's not the important part," the captain told the doctor.

Hiri nodded, "They were different. People accepted that difference as long as it was helpful but they were generally considered crazy by the powers that be, sued for damage to the city and barred from studying paranormal stuff. That was until an evil took over the city and the only people who could fix it were the Ghostbusters. They used science and positive thinking to save everyone."

"Kinda like me, huh?" Jamie asked.

Bones snorted, "Except you really are crazy."

* * *

"You keep staring at your PADD, Jim. What's the deal?" Bones asked her at lunch.

"Captainy stuff," she shrugged.

He rolled his eyes, "Captainy stuff my ass. What's going on?" She was about to answer him when the device pinged, drawing the whole table's attention in her direction.

"Well?" Hikaru asked. Jamie read the words on the screen and she wasn't surprised as what she saw.

"'Lieutenant Commander Sulu is directed to report to Starbase Twenty-Five in fifteen days to rendezvous with the USS Courageous for duty as the ship's executive officer.' Looks like we're dropping you off on our way back to Earth. Barnett sent this himself," she told him.

"Vhat does zhat mean?" Chekov asked after the group of officers congratulated the newly promoted officer.

Hiri smiled, "I'm a first officer. Any advice, Spock?"

"I have never served with Captain Caulder. He and Captain Kirk are very different officers. My advice is to contact him, it is the only way you will have any clue as to how your tour on the Courageous will go," her first officer told him.

Jamie nodded, "That's good advice. Spock and I had to skip that part because of Nero but it's essentially the same. We managed to get a feel for each other… too bad we were being shot at."

"Should I comm him now?" Hiri asked.

Scotty chuckled, "Dinnae see why not, lad." Hikaru shot out of his seat to go comm Caulder.

"You okay?" Uhura asked her.

"He earned it," Jamie said with the best smile she could muster.

Bones sighed, "That's not what she asked, kid. Are you okay?"

"We're officers… command officers. It's a reality of the path we've chosen. One day, you guys will all get offered jobs on other ships and starbases. As much as I'd like for our little family to stay like it is, nothing lasts forever. I know that better than most."

* * *

"You do know that I can find you even when you turn off your locater, right?" Hikaru asked as he sat next to her in the empty observation lounge.

"I know," she whispered.

He chuckled, "I thought you'd be happy for me."

"I am happy for you," she told him.

"But?" her favorite pilot asked. She looked out at the stars.

"The reality of it is scary. You've had my back since before I got the chair and you were supposed to be there when we got home. Sometimes I wish you weren't so awesome. That way I could keep you to myself."

"I'm sure that would have its advantages but you don't mean it. You like that I'm awesome. You're just scared that this is the end of us, aren't you?" he asked. Jamie shrugged but didn't say anything. Hikaru chuckled, "What's it gonna take for you to get that I love you too much for that?"

She sighed, "I have no doubt that you do. It doesn't make it easier to be away from the person you love."

"Especially since we've practically been joined at the hip for almost six years," Hiri said.

Jamie nodded, "There is that."

"Odysseus and Penelope," he smiled. She looked at him and smiled as he continued. "Husband and wife torn apart for twenty years by war before they were reunited."

She chuckled, "Let's hope we're not apart that long. And no hanging out with goddesses."

"Can do," Hiri said. "I already have my goddess."

* * *

"Are you watching me sleep?" Hiri asked as he blinked his eyes open.

"I am. Today's the big day," she whispered.

He chuckled, "I know, babe. You know it doesn't change anything."

"It does. Not necessarily bad though," Jamie said. "I mean, if we can make it work from opposite sides of the galaxy then there's nothing we can't do."

"That's very optimistic of you," Hikaru smiled. "Who are you and where is my Jamie?"

"Ha ha. Believe it or not, I called my mother. She's the only person I know who's in a relationship that isn't with her spouse all the time. She gave me some advice and, after thinking about it, I guess she's right. Being together in the same place is the easy part but being together when you're far from each other only works if you make it."

"That's good advice. My dad's advice was to keep talking. No matter what's going on, talk," he said.

"I think I can do that," she whispered against his neck. "I love you, Hikaru Sulu. I love you and I'll kick your sexy ass if you die on me."

"I can't promise that, but I'll try to stay safe," Hikaru said before he pulled her into a kiss. "I love you, Jamie."


	12. Epilogue

"What is this?" Hikaru asked the person who jumped in his lap as she put the gold tiara on his head.

"I'm Link, daddy. You have to be Zelda," their daughter told him. Hiri looked at Jamie.

"Don't look at me, Princess. I got nothing to do with it," Jamie said as Demora tugged him out of the chair.

"Rescue me, mommy," he whispered.

"No can do, Zelda. That's Link's job. Right, Link?"

"Yep. Mommy's right. Besides, I'm rescuing you from her. She's the bad guy," the seven year old proclaimed.

"I don't think your mother could ever actually be bad, sweet pea," Hikaru pressed a kiss on the top of their daughter's head. "She can try though."

"What bad guy am I?" Jamie asked.

Demora thought about it for a second, "Hmm… you can be Ganon."

"Always trying to take my kingdom," Hiri huffed.

"Hyrule will be mine, Princess Zelda," Jamie told him.

"Not as long as I'm around," their daughter said in her oversized green shirt that Jamie was sure belonged to Hiri.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Link, but it's past your bed time. I can take over the whole kingdom while you slumber," Jamie teased.

"No!" Demora cried overdramatically.

Hikaru stood tall, "I won't let you win."

"You won't be able to stop me," she chuckled and looked at Demora. "Who's reading your story tonight?"

Demora looked between the pair of officers, "Hmm… Daddy."

"Okay," Jamie chuckled before she peppered kissed all over the little girl's face. "Night, mini. I love you."

"Love you too, mommy," Demora said before she scrambled up Hikaru's back, with a little help from him.

"To Hyrule," Hiri called before they left the room. Jamie couldn't help but laugh at them. She almost couldn't believe how the last nine years panned out.

After months of vid-comms, messages and meet ups all over the place, the pair of command officers decided to just get married. It took them almost a year to plan the damn thing thanks to their ship schedules and in the end, they didn't even have the wedding they put together. A Bajoran colony on Gelladorn was destroyed and the colony on Velat Nol was attacked by the Ascendants. Both the Courageous and Enterprise defended the Bajorans, taking heavy damage. Captain Caulder ended up marrying the pair in his ready room in front of a dozen of their friends and Uhura recorded it for the parents.

A few months after that, Caulder was killed in a scuffle with some Orion Raiders and Hikaru was advanced to active commanding officer of the Courageous. He didn't think the brass would let him keep it but they did, promoting him to full commander… just in time for Jamie to figure out that she was pregnant. So, instead of another five year mission, the Enterprise was put into the patrol rotation.

On Bones' birthday, January twentieth, twenty-two sixty-seven, Demora Christopher Sulu was born. The kid was every inch her father's daughter with dark hair, dark eyes and full of energy. Jamie and Hikaru took posts at the Academy for three years while the Enterprise was being refit. After that, Jamie returned to commanding her ship and Hiri took up the first officer's post while Demora wrapped the whole crew around her tiny fingers. Spock wanted to focus more on his research and his own nuptials, so he stepped down from the XO spot.

Now, Hikaru was on the short list for commanding officer of the new Excelsior. They decided that their daughter would stay with Jamie if he got it since she was promoted to Rear Admiral and assigned as XO to the Special Diplomatic Division in San Francisco. The CO, Vice Admiral Lori Ciana actually had to lobby for Jamie to join the SDD since the young admiral was offered a spot at Tactical Command. Jamie agreed on the condition that Riley get a promotion and serve as her aide at HQ. She still has trust issues, not that anyone could blame her.

"How's my other favorite girl?" Hiri asked when he walked back in the room ten minutes later.

"I would feel better if your son wasn't kicking me in the kidneys. I'm thinking about Hosato Samuel Sulu… or something like that," she chuckled.

"I like it. Maybe Samuel Hosato Sulu. I'd ask dad but we both know what he'd pick. That's how Demi ended up with my grandmother's name in the first place."

"That's true. She out already?" Jamie asked.

"Yep. Three pages and she was out like a light. I suppose I should tuck mommy in now," he said before giving her a quick kiss.

"Is that what we're calling it now?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is," Hikaru took the PADD out of her hands.

Jamie smiled, "Well, this'll be a first. I never had sex with a captain before."

"What?" He stopped and looked at her. "Did you just say what I think you just said?"

"You have the PADD in your hands, you tell me," she shrugged.

"Oh my God," Hiri muttered as he read the orders a few times. "I'm a captain… of the Excelsior… You already knew."

"I'm an admiral, I know a lot of things, sweetheart," Jamie smiled.

Generally, she doesn't like being tied to the brass but it's the only place, other than the Enterprise, where she could affect some change. It was also the only way to keep an eye on her crew since they've mostly spread out, getting promotions and making their marks on the universe just like Jamie thought they would.

Bones joined the Frontier Medical Program and was out in the black as the XO on a medical ship. Uhura took up a post with Starfleet Intelligence. Scotty and Gaila were both with the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Chekov was staying on the Enterprise as the Executive and Chief Tactical Officer. Spock was working at Science Command. Carol moved to Fleet R&D.

"How long have you known?"

"A while. The short list had two people on it," she told him. "The other officer, Will Decker, got the Enterprise. His commission was before yours, which made him the senior officer, so he got to pick. He made his official choice two days ago. Congratulations, Captain Sulu."

"Say it again," he smiled.

"Captain Hikaru Sato Sulu… Kirk," Jamie smiled.

He chuckled, "Sounds good. You called it… a decade ago. I'm never gonna hear the end of it, am I?"

"Of course not."


End file.
